Hi Rajnish,
I was reading about the Open Source Strategy for Mauritius. The
following is under national considerations:
"Imagine the implications to a sovereign nation if the electronic records
of its citizens are kept in databases that can be accessed readily only
by proprietary software from a foreign vendor or the documents of the
government are kept in a format that belongs to a vendor who thus has
total control over its accessibility both now and in the future."
In September 2015, I sent a request for the technical specifications
for the National Identity Card to understand whether it is "safe" or
not. The request is still pending.
In April 2016, the government agreed to the National Open Data
Policy. Paragraph 143, in the budget speech, is related to Open
Data. I prefer not to ask about the Open Data report as it does not
seem like the Ministry is interested in encouraging people interested
in Open Data. It is very difficult to convince people in Mauritius
that, nowadays, technology is more about data instead of computers or software.
The Strategy has the following: "OSS, OS, OC baseline in Mauritius is
very fragmented and there is virtually no exchange of
information". It is easier to find out which open standard is in use
in another country than to find out which standard is in use in Mauritius.
The Strategy also mentions that "as fragmented OSS baseline and lack
of potential leader/promoter are among the biggest obstacles in
developing a sustainable and efficient ecosystem, the main
organizational initiatives have to be initiated, coordinated and
measured by the GoM". Would a government-led ecosystem have the
dynamics for it to develop into an ecosystem which is self-sustainable?
Regards,
S. Moonesamy
Received on Sun Jul 31 2016 - 20:52:51 PST