Re: E-Payment & E-Invoicing Portal - Follow-Ups

I have read about various proposals of the Federal Government on her intent to establish an e-Payment and e-invoicing portal. It is a welcome idea, but conventional wisdom suggests that it a faulty roadmap. In actual fact, process-activity is what is being valued and paid for - it is the root-data to all payment systems.

The simple fact of life is that all activities (in whichever form/s) come/s before payment/money!) This is why the process of employment and labour is a time-bound activity-content - whose end result is a form of value/ measurable in payment at the agreed terminal day/date of exchange of value/money for work done. Tracking the money before the work is indeed creating and electronic-mirage of a road construction leading to nowhere.

Therefore, establishing e-payment before -e-government policy and automated database putting the cart before the horse Lessons learnt from the computerization and automation of the Banking system validates the above position.

Banks did not just wake up one day to start e-payment and e-invoicing - Nay! It consolidated on its executive financial policy experiences and central internal database to start e-Payment, ATM, and other electronic pause services.

The right thing to do is to establish a National e-Government policy - whole implementation results in the establishment of e-government Portal - where the core-segment is automated "G2G" (Government-to-Government") Executive- Legislative and Judiciary Modular Database system - interfacing and giving life to: "G2B" (Government to Business) and "G2C" (Government to Citizens) respectively.
Small countries such as Trinidad and Tobago can be said to be ahead of Nigeria in this regard. There's need to return to the drawing board of e-government.


Chris Uwaje,
Vice President ISPON

On Global Economic Recession

Your last edition is filled with stories of job cuts in IT companies of the world; does it mean that it is only IT that is the worst hit in the global recession?
I will be glad if you can do a story on the causes of global economic collapse from IT perspective.


Akpan Atan,
Ministry of Science and Technology
Abuja