AlQaed chairs the ‘ICT Cost Reduction’ task force meeting

Manama, May 29 (BNA): Mohammed Ali Al Qaed; head of the Government ICT Cost Reduction Task Force, CEO for Information & eGovernment Authority, chaired the task force meeting. The meeting was established following the directives of Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister & Chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Financial Affairs that aims in reducing ICT operating costs as part of the government efforts to reduce expenditure. AlQaed praised the efforts and commitment of the task force members, which resulted in raising the standard of government services provided to citizens at a reduced cost, looking forward to achieving further progress in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders, especially Ministry of Finance & National Economy. The task force looked into 16 government initiatives related to operating expenditure reduction in the ICT arena in governmental entities, and took a number of decisions that will impact the expenses in short and long run. The committee discussed numerous initiatives to confirm technical criteria and standards when it comes to purchasing equipment such as PC purchases criteria noting best quality and durability, in addition to reviewing the regulation initiative of controlling paper waste by centralizing printing in governmental entities, which was recently supported by the government purchasing policy for printers and its accessories. The discussions also included the initiative of regulating the technical support vendors contracts to enhance the overall purchases procedures, along with awareness circulations for all governmental entities on the usage of e-fax to reduce telecom & paper expenses along with activating the use of IP telephony services.