Muscat – The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) has notified units of the state’s administrative apparatus and government and private companies to provide easy access to services and information available on ICT platforms to persons with disabilities and the elderly, and to remove barriers that prevent this.

The ministry is pushing to implement the National E-accessibility Policy, which aims to provide fair and equal life opportunities to persons with disabilities and the elderly through the use of information and communications technology.

MTCIT has called on government and private companies to start transforming their digital services, whether on websites or mobile phone apps, and enhance these with digital access, including ‘accessibility’ as a required feature in all ICT purchases.

‘The authorities supervising private sector institutions should oblige them to design and upgrade their existing sites and platforms in line with international standards for digital access,’ it stated.

Oman has made steady progress in ICT development in the last decade. The sultanate will invest RO170mn over the next few years in its Digital Transformation Programme, which aims to enhance national competencies, ONA reported recently.

The programme, being implemented from 2021 to 2025, is carried out by MTCIT, and will include investments in improving processes, re-engineering government services and improving digital infrastructure.

The programme includes a roadmap for utilising modern techniques to develop public sector functioning, notably by creating digital platforms for services, as well as a legal and regulatory climate that empowers digital transformation.