State to seek additional loan from China

www.fijisun.com.fj-13/11/2009

The Ministry of Finance will seek a soft loan of an undisclosed amount from the EXIM Bank of China. The loan is to finance the second phase of the e governance project. Cabinet has allowed the ministry to seek the loan. China had provided US$20 million to the Government to fund Phase 1 of the project. Cabinet based its decision on a submission by the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama. He informed Cabinet that about 90 percent of the project had been completed by the end of last month. He said Phase Two of the project would be a continuation of recommendations contained in the Government's master plan. “Phase Two will focus on more deliveries, such as the creation of National Identity System, strengthening of border control solutions, and improvement of national info-communications infrastructure,” Mr Bainimarama said. “A major component of Phase Two will focus on the re-engineering of Government processes that will assist in nationwide exercises such as the right-sizing activities of the civil service,” he added. It was anticipated that Phase Two would begin next January and to be completed by December 2012. “The project team will be responsible for the provision of the required engineering work, provision of required quality assurance work, establishment of the Project Management Office, developing the required project management standards, coordination of various Government initiatives, and capacity building programmes,” Mr Bainimarama said. “Of the total 84 projects to be completed under the project, 68 were completed from January 2008 to October 2009. “The remaining 16 are to be completed within the next few months,” he said. He said the Government Project Team would continue its operation until 2012.