After the approval of the National Information Technology Board (NITB) Bill by President Dr Arif Alvi, the federal government has decided to establish the National Information Technology Board.
According to Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) officials, the ministry wants the appointment of two members, including the appointment of CEO and a private member, to be completed before the formation of the board.
Under the Act, the Board has 9 members, out of which 8 members including the CEO are ex-officio while one private member has been made part of the Board. On August 4, the federal government approved the appointment of Dr Sohail Munir as the CEO of NITB. The MoITT also issued an offer letter to Sohail Munir about a week and a half ago but there has been no response from him yet.
MoITT officials say that Dr Sohail Munir will inform the ministry about his final decision in the next few days as he is bound to reply within 2 weeks of the offer letter. There is also a procedure for appointing a private member, the ministry wants the new CEO to come and complete the process, after which the federal government will issue board establishment notification.
According to the NITB Act, the Federal Minister MoITT will be the Chairman of the Board, while the CEO NITB will be the Secretary of the NITB Board. Federal Secretary MoITT, Federal Secretary of the division to which business of science and technology is allocated, Member IT, DG (Technical) ISI, and Secretary NITB will be among the ex-officio members of the Board.
According to the NITB Act, the Board shall have all the financial and administrative powers of the NITB. The Board shall prescribe regulations, including regulations for exercising its powers and performance of its functions, and enter into contracts, agreements, and MoUs. It will have powers to acquire, lease, encumber, dispose of or exchange any moveable or immovable property or any interest.
The board will guide, and facilitate the federal government, ministries, and organizations in promoting efficient and transparent governance, and cost-effective implementation of e-office. It will carry out need assessment and design and implement IT capacity-building programs for employees of the federal government, ministries and divisions, and many other functions related to the digitalization of ministries and organizations.
