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A Zambian delegation was recently at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to understudy Nigeria’s National Public Key Infrastructure (NPKI)
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Led by a director from Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority, Mr. Austin Sichinga, the delegation said it found Nigeria’s model most adoptable and adaptable having studied other models across the continent.
“We are quite eager to engage and learn as much as we can here; and if you see how diverse our team is and the portfolios we traveled with, it is an indication of how much we value the project as we intend to implement it for secured transactions and ensure we are moving on the right path,” said Sichinga.
Adding: “one of the things that has to happen is ensuring we are ready with services and interaction with the various partners across the borders.”
While acknowledging that the implementation of the country PKI is long overdue, Sichinga maintained that Zambia’s President has made it known that he wants a non-stop border that will enhance data exchange, secured platforms across institutions.
“The project is long overdue. We have to implement before that conversation on trade and interactions across various platforms within the country and across can happen. So we are really eager to engage and create partnerships so that we can begin to learn from one another,” he said.
NITDA’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said Zambia can count on Nigeria’s support as a fellow African country.
“We need to work as a team, so as Africans, I think this is high time for us to come together; come up with our digital strategy because digital is beyond boundaries, it is borderless.” Abdullahi stated adding that NITDA has developed Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan, (SRAP) 2021-2024 with seven strategic pillars. The PKI falls under the Developmental Regulation of SRAP.
According to him, regulation from the agency’s perceptive is “any intervention that can influence the business social or market behavior.”
Speaking further, the NITDA’s boss explained that the Agency is developing a regulation on PKI because the law that established the Agency empowered it to do sub-legislation.
He said Ghana, Gambia and Kenya had visited the agency in similar vein, even as enjoined the delegation to initiate approaches that would make Zambia digitally independent.
