However, the minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Tassarajen Pillay-Chedumbrum assured that the project is moving in the right direction and as planned. “Whenever I make any statement, I stick to it,” he said.
This follows the allegation levelled by Opposition leader Paul Bérenger at his weekly press conference. He had denounced the lack of transparency in the project.
Replying to a question by The Independent on the issue, the ICT minister stated, “The Opposition leader, Paul Bérenger was misled by the president of Mauritius IT Industry Association (MITIA) and his statement was based on false information.”
The Opposition also underlined that Singapore does not have the necessary technology to advise on the project. “People can say a lot of things and it is not right to doubt Singapore‘s competency. It has made enormous progress in this sector. Mauritius has made developments but we have only one optic fibre cable coming into the island while Singapore has 15. It is an indication of their technological advancement,” said Chedumbrum. He assured that the situation is not worrying and people should not pay attention to rumours. As approved by the Cabinet, the first ID card will be issued by early July 2012. The multi-usage card using SMART card technology will be equipped with security features to make counterfeiting, and duplicating impossible.
The services of CrimsonLogic, a provider of e-government solutions have been retained through a memorandum of understanding signed with the Singapore Corporation Enterprise in 2008.
Related News
