The Ministry of Innovation & Technology launched a five-year e-governance plan requiring a 40 million dollar investment. The finance focuses on digital literacy, skills development, and legal frameworks but excludes infrastructure costs, which will require additional finances.

Developed over a year by 12 consultants and funded by the European Union, the five-year strategy outlines functionality, capacity, and finance as critical points. Officials see this as a crucial step towards addressing hurdles in data management, governance, and enterprise architecture in public services.

According to Lishan Adem, one of the leading consultants with over two decades of experience in digital technology, the strategy focuses on effective ICT governance mechanisms. He said that building infrastructure is necessary to sustain long-term investments, but requires substantial resource allocation.

"Resources must be allocated to measure up to the task," he told Fortune.

A strategy is only as good as its implementation.

Last week, the document was up for final public consultation at Haile Grand. Digital literacy emerged as a critical concern with officials pointing out the lack of knowledge among public servants, causing frustration and exploitation of citizens due to improper skills.

"Services need to be citizen-based," said Lishan.

The plan also emphasises adopting a national cybersecurity strategy and critical information infrastructure protection plan. Lishan revealed a rise in digital scams, cyber-attacks, and AI-powered criminal activities, highlighting the need for improved cybersecurity.

"It is a risk out there," he said.

The strategy aspires to unify systems by rolling out e-governance, e-commerce, and national identification services and propelling the country into the digital age. It suggests establishing a Digital Economy Council for implementation.

Despite several digital strategy revisions since 2006, Ethiopia's e-government ranking according to the UN remains around 179th out of 193 countries until 2022. While the country fares better in e-participation, ranking around 163rd, the overall score suffers due to limitations in the reliability, accessibility, and consistency of its e-government services.

Belete Molla (PhD), minister of Innovation & Technology, lauded the new strategy as a major pillar for digital transformation. His Ministry's performance audit recently captured Parliament's attention, taking much of the blame for failing to complete projects on time — such as science cafes and digital transformation — resulting in public losses of 43 million Br and 277 million Br, respectively.

Belete said the financing part of the e-governance strategy is pending. However, he believes past implementation issues are addressed with public consultation.