PRESENTATION: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTEGRATED TAX ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM (ITAS): CHALLENGES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

PRESENTER: MR. TONATENI KATANGOLO

INSTITUTE: MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(Credit: NamaRa website)

Mr. Katongolo discussed how Namibia lacks revenue creation due to ineffective administration services. He pointed out the need to improve every state system for the country's functional capability and develop systems to enhance the operation of administrative systems.

The Tax Administrative System is an online tax collection system designed to improve taxpayer services, operational efficiencies, and the effectiveness of tax administration to increase the revenue of the country. The system offers online services that will be accessible 24 hours a day and multi-channel access to engage in IRD services. There is a call centre that can provide guidelines to citizens regarding taxes. The system also provides instant email notifications when people get their taxes. Access to generic information and the ability to generate a statement for the taxpayer promote self-services such as updating user information, registration of taxes, and generating transfer requests.

Increase in Revenue Generation

The integrated tax administration system increased the number of taxpayers and got taxes from the maximum number of citizens. This resulted in the revenue of the state automatically increasing as the majority of the people paid their taxes. He identified that the major problem in the country is that most people are not aware of the tax system, and that is why they still pay their taxes to the state. The 24-hour service and administration system encouraged people and provided basic information to them regarding their taxes. Moreover, the system automatically collected data and evaluated their positions on whether they were eligible for tax payments and claims or not. 

Registry Systems

Additionally, the registry system, along with the tax administration system, collected and stored the data of all citizens and also evaluated their income and property information. The major problem with this system is that it is difficult to gather information from citizens. However, the integration of the registry system will automatically collect, store, and update the information whenever it is necessary.

Milestones from the system were identifiable in phases: project initiation that defined requirements specifications; system design that defined the architecture, data, and communication between modules; System development that stated how the system should be operated; System testing by creating scenarios and testing the actual system; System Production/Implementation that did conference room piloting and recreating business processes; and lastly, System Commissioning, where only 2% is left in total commission.

Although there have been major milestones in the system, the number of registered online taxpayers is still low. The system will, however, be beneficial as there will be less human interaction and processes will be paperless (savings on cost). Finally, the challenges hindering full implementation are the resistance to change from taxpayers (which could curb issues of lost documents and existing cloud storage), the data migration system, and the user interface (policy and regulations).

PRESENTATION: INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEM FOR NAMIBIA

PRESENTER: MR. TEKLU ADAMU

INSTITUTE: ROADS AUTHORITY

Mr. Adamu pointed out that 700+ fatalities occur every year on our roads which amounted to about 2 people involved in road-related incidents per day. He said that roads are the most valuable assets to the nation and losing lives to it should not be acceptable but platforms such as the ICT Summit, provide an opportunity to discuss any possible solutions. Intelligent Transport System (ITS) is one of the proposed solutions that takes into consideration the people, vehicles, and roads components.

Challenges

Mr. Adamu identified two major challenges faced by people on roads in Namibia namely over speeding, which results in crashes, accidents, injuries, and loss of life; and overloading, which leads to damage to the infrastructure of the roads and reduces road quality that can damage or cause wear to tyres.  

Integration of ITS

Mr. Adamu mentioned how integration and development of the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) are the latest and advanced applications for improved safety and efficiency in the road sector. The major components of ITS applications are Loops; Piezos; WIM; Telematics; FCD; V2V; V2I; and RFID.

Utilization of Resources

Mr. Adamu discussed the ITS in detail that, this type of system is to be used to help monitor the transportation system and collect data through the use of GPRS services. The system could also generate a report to share with key stakeholders to enable easier decision-making regarding effective improvement in the road transportation system. The data generated should include the number of transport types on the road, speed of each vehicle, direction of movement, lane, date, and time of travel, length and class of the vehicles.

Communication with Stakeholders

Mr. Adamu stated that the major stakeholders of interest in curbing issues related to transport are engineers, economists, officers of traffic law enforcement agencies, business communities, and all government agencies and international development partners.

The infrastructure of road transportation could be improved through the utilisation of ICT capacity, and build more strategic plans regarding development and improvement so we can get more benefits from it.

Gathering of Data on Road Transport

The collected data would be beneficial for making and developing new laws and policies regarding the road transport system and making informed decisions. Integrated cameras and speed calculators, and implemented signboards should be incorporated along the roads to create awareness amongst the people regarding the rules and regulations of the transport system. The major benefits of the system would yield in the form of deterring overloading, implementing new laws of road transport more effectively and improving the safety of the people on the roads.

Benefits for MVAF

The significant benefits for MVAF would be: a reduced number of crashes, reduced chances of injuries, and probable precise determination of accident causes. The ITS system would also help in keeping the records of offenders and result in reduced expenses of rebuilding damaged road infrastructure.

Benefits of Road Fund Administration

Lastly, Mr. Adamu identified the major benefits for Road Fund Administration when such systems are implemented: integrated license fees, implemented fines in the case of violation of traffic rules, mass distance charges, provision of an effective way of financial planning, saved costs for maintenance of the roads and promoted honesty and transparency. 

Presentation: Smart City by Mrs. Rose Moyo

PRESENTER: MRS. ROSE MOYO

INSTITUTE: HUAWEI 

In her presentation Mrs. Moyo showed the importance of Smart Cities; aimed at a better life and to be provided to every citizen. The concept is proven to open doors to smart solutions in terms of safety, time, cost of living, job creation, health, and connectedness. Smart city is not about ICT but ICT does play an integral role in making a city smart. She said we are in a digital era where everything is sensed, connected, and intelligent. A smart city is about building a nervous system, a “brain” that serves as a command centre to effectively manage a city. Therefore, it is not one technology that gives you a smart city, but the system serves on various platforms.

                                                                Credit: Nust

Challenges   

Mrs Moyo identified that the biggest challenge in Namibia is urbanisation. The ratio of increased population is currently high in Namibia due to the ineffective allocation and distribution of resources, not well-equipped infrastructures of the cities and the change in climate conditions. She stated that with a Smart City, there must be appropriate and effective resources which could protect the lives of the citizens which ensures resource allocation to improve. Moreover, health services will be provided to citizens promptly. She said integrated ICT solutions along with the city have great potential to create more jobs for youth and all unemployed citizens.

                                                                                      Credit: ET Government

Driving Technology

In her last note, Mrs Moyo highlighted that to succeed as a Smart City, we should take note of or put in action the following: implementing technologies in the health care department such as cloud computing for manipulation of data; increased broadband services; improvement in the data centre; people (business) driven, encompassing policy and regulations; developed ecosystems to solve issues, and improve security in the city.

PRESENTATIONS: MAKING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WORK FOR THE PEOPLE

PRESENTATIONS: MAKING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WORK FOR THE PEOPLE PRESENTER: DR. STANLEY SHANAPINDA BRAND AMBASSADOR OF THE NATIONAL ICT SUMMIT

 

Credit: Telecom website

Dr. Shanapinda highlighted how transformation of digital assets, and how it can be made to be valuable and useful for the ordinary people of Namibia. He briefly gave an overview regarding how to use digital technologies in all business and organizational activities, operations, processes, and models to provide full leverage that changes the current environment, and further create opportunities to mix digital technologies and their impact across society in a strategic way, with the present and future in mind. 

Challenges 

During his discussion, Dr Shanapinda defined the term digitization, referring to the technical conversion of digital assets and turning them into a business process which can create an impact on our economy. He said that according to the National Statistics Agency (2018), numbers showed that our country has about 401,970 employees; and about 46,752 people employed in the sectors of culture, fishing and forestry. Major earners are in the farming sectors at about 46.1% despite only 1% of Namibia’s land being arable. Moreover, our country has 876,908 people who are between the ages of 15 and 34, and 265,770 people in the country are unemployed. This indicated that the ratio of unemployment to employment is quite high primarily due to the lack of information sharing and accessibility of information. 

Purpose of Digital Transformation 

Dr. Shanapinda elaborated that digital transformation is all about strategic planning, and interconnection of suitable systems and services to deliver a valuable service. These changes in technologies are not only about improvement in access to information or increase the speed of the download, but these changes create an impact on the economic growth and development of society. Through these kinds of developments and changes in technological assets, the country could improve sustainability and create an opportunity for organizations and business sectors to improve and enhance communication channels. The effects created by digitalisation are often yielded in the form of digital transformation, which helps businesses and organizations achieve their goals such as business saving, increased productivity, and increased revenue. 

(Credit: MICT,2019) 

Advantages

Dr. Shanapinda gave a detailed overview of a wide range of advantages of digital transformation, and how it could help citizens, business entities, organizations, and government within the country, and could advance the competitive nature of Namibia. Dr. Shanapinda mentioned that the major benefit of digitization is the automation of systems, that would help promote transparency, and reduced human interaction that could ultimately curb the element of corruption. Digital transformation has other potentials: to enable the betterment and efficiently support decision-making; improve the working efficiency of employees which may lead to increased productivity; an environment developed for more innovation and development throughout the country; and improve communication paths that will be made more reliable and easier; the vast access to information will be made more trustworthy and accurate; the improved workings of the banking systems; reduced numbers in the unemployment statistics; transformed consumer behaviour; more investments built in the country; and lastly, there will be guidelines provided to the business entity to spread business globally. 

Impact on Employment

The agenda of Dr Shanapinda in his presentation was to highlight how digital transformation can be made more fruitful for the ordinary people of Namibia. And of the prominent issues we have in Namibia is the staggering number of youth unemployment and climate change. He said the change in nature in terms of climate made it more difficult for us to find an equilibrium path; therefore, it is needed to establish an environment to address all issues of youth employment. He pointed out that mixed skills job losses are expected due to digitization; therefore, it is needed to invest funds that focus on skills development and job creation. 

Competitive Advantage for Namibia

Dr. Stanley said that Mining is one of the highest contributors to our country’s GDP. The sector uses quite a large amount of water, which is already in limited amounts in the country. ICT solutions could create opportunities to try and solve all-like drought challenges. He noted that the current groundwater management systems of the country are not working efficiently, primarily because the database of the system is not cloud-based technology or across all aquifers, and planning is not based on strategies that reduce the wastage of water. He said effective wireless management networks that analyze data on a real-time basis, for example, hyper-connectivity technologies, could make it more affordable to reduce the wastage of water and improve the water management system in terms of reporting usage, how much is left; and overall usage patterns can be used to manage water reserves. As the guest speaker and brand ambassador, Dr Shanapinda gave his last notes as a recommendation, highlighting that Namibia is a need and necessity is the mother of invention, therefore as citizens and stakeholders we need to simulate real-world business practice as part of studies, entrepreneurial simulated training; promote industry-focused practices instead of academic steering that will be economically beneficial; everything must be encrypted to prevent attacks; denial services types of scenarios that interfere with the interference user-face must be planned as all types of data are at risk; secure the underground water we rely on; massive job losses: expect the unexpected; and discussions must continue: laws; funding; enrolling and graduating; indicators for university research.

Highlights from the 6th National ICT Summit Namibia held in 2019

 Highlights from the 6th National ICT Summit

Credit: MICT, 2019

In the dynamic landscape of technology, summits and conferences serve as pivotal platforms for stakeholders to converge, exchange ideas, and chart the course for the future. The 6th National ICT Summit, held in 2019, stood as a beacon of innovation and collaboration, bringing together industry leaders, policymakers, and experts to investigate the transformative potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) National ICT Summit Namibia. This blog post will unravel the background, objectives, and key takeaways from this significant event.

The National ICT Summit has emerged as a cornerstone event in technology, spearheading discussions on emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities. Originating from the need to foster digital advancement and leverage technology for societal progress, this summit has evolved into a premier platform for thought leadership and knowledge exchange National ICT Summit Namibia. With each iteration, it has addressed pressing issues and catalysed initiatives aimed at harnessing the power of ICT for inclusive growth and sustainable development.

The primary objective of the 6th National ICT Summit was to explore the multifaceted dimensions of technology and its role in shaping the future. Against the backdrop of rapid digital transformation and the emergence of disruptive technologies, the summit aimed to:

Foster Collaboration: The summit sought to facilitate collaboration among industry players, government agencies, academia, and other stakeholders to drive innovation and address common challenges (John, 2023).

Promote Digital Inclusion: With a focus on inclusivity, the summit aimed to discuss strategies for bridging the digital divide and ensuring equitable access to technology-driven opportunities across all segments of society (John, 2023).

Address Emerging Trends: Recognizing the evolving technological landscape, the summit provided a platform to delve into emerging trends such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain, and their implications for various sectors (John, 2023).

Policy Formulation: Policymakers and regulators leveraged the summit as a forum to discuss regulatory frameworks, policies, and initiatives necessary to foster a conducive environment for technological innovation and entrepreneurship (John, 2023).

Knowledge Sharing: Through keynote speeches, panel discussions, and workshops, the summit facilitated the exchange of insights, best practices, and success stories, enabling participants to gain valuable knowledge and inspiration (John, 2023).

The 6th National ICT Summit witnessed vibrant discussions and insights across a spectrum of topics. Some key takeaways include:

Embracing Disruptive Technologies: Participants acknowledged the transformative potential of disruptive technologies such as AI, blockchain, and IoT, emphasizing the need for organizations to adapt and innovate to stay competitive in the digital age(John, 2023).

Digital Skills and Education: Addressing the skills gap emerged as a critical priority, with discussions focusing on the importance of fostering digital literacy, upskilling, and reskilling initiatives to empower individuals and enhance employability (John, 2023).

Cybersecurity Imperatives: With the increasing prevalence of cyber threats, cybersecurity emerged as a pressing concern. Participants stressed the importance of robust cybersecurity measures, stakeholder collaboration, and awareness campaigns to mitigate risks and safeguard digital assets (John, 2023).

Sustainable Development: The summit underscored the role of ICT in advancing sustainable development goals, with an emphasis on leveraging technology for environmental conservation, healthcare delivery, education, and poverty alleviation (John, 2023).

The 6th National ICT Summit served as a catalyst for dialogue, collaboration, and action, reaffirming the pivotal role of technology in shaping the future. As we navigate the complexities of an increasingly digital world, such platforms play a crucial role in driving collective efforts towards harnessing the full potential of ICT for the betterment of society.

References:

National ICT Summit: Home, (2024). National ICT Summit Website. Retrieved from: https://ictsummit.gov.na/, Accessed on April 2, (2024).

John, S. (2023). "Harnessing the Power of Technology for Inclusive Growth," Journal of Technology and Society, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 45-58.