MPs block e-governance project

A government plan to wire all district local governments on a virtual platform to popularise e-governance and minimise burgeoning administrative spending, has been blocked by Parliament, reports Daily Monitor.

The House committee on Information, Communication and Technology says it will authorise implementation of the $60-million project only after officials offer proper accountability for the national fibre-optic backbone phase I expenditures.

Paula Turyahikayo, the committee vice-chairperson, says they are edgy about a repeat of sub-standard networking. “There were problems with the quality of work done under phase I (of the national data transmission backbone infrastructure); some of the cables were cut, others damaged and the whole thing was not functioning,” she said.

Financial firms are making a major effort to improve their risk management processes and organisation, says Hank Prybylski, global financial services risk management leader at Ernst & Young, according to Risk.net.

There is also much more attention paid to identifying risk and the potential risk from new products, he says.

“We are seeing significant investment and commitment by firms to improve their risk management processes across all risk disciplines and risk governance areas,” he says.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, said it will advise Bank of Palestine on how to better manage risks and increase financing for small and medium enterprises, an initiative that will help strengthen the banking system and increase economic growth in West Bank and Gaza, states Xinhua.

The initiative, IFC's first advisory services project with a bank in West Bank and Gaza in risk management, will help Bank of Palestine develop its risk management structure, systems, procedures, and processes, allowing it to attract investment and to provide financial services to smaller businesses and a wider segment of the population.

IFC said it expects the partnership with Bank of Palestine, one of the largest banks in the West Bank and Gaza in terms of outstanding loan portfolio, to lead to broad-based improvements in the overall banking sector in West Bank and Gaza.