The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has decided to organize a one-day workshop for stakeholders on Guidelines for the Introduction of Service Level Agreement (SLA) into Government Information Technology Contracts.
The engagement is to ensure effective and efficient delivery of IT products and services for public institutions’ consumption and to further develop the culture of compliance to SLAs in government IT contracts.
Speaking at the workshop, which drew participation from Lawyers and Information and Communication Technology professionals in the Federal Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), the NITDA’s Director-General, Mal. Kashifu Inuwa disclosed that NITDA intended to familiarize the participants with the guidelines to improve further compliance to better service delivery in the IT sector.
“We are here to understand and agree on how to draft standard SLAs to ensure the provision of adequate warranty, after-sales service agreement on our IT products and services, and adequate provisions for downtime and after-sales support,” Mal Inuwa, who was represented by Acting Director, Corporate Planning and Strategy, Dr. Aristotle Onumo said.
Inuwa noted that developing a guideline for introducing SLA into Government Information Contracts has become imperative because of “the significant role IT has played in this economy in recent years.”
While citing the pivotal roles the sector played in lifting the Nigerian economy out of recession with the recording the highest growth rate in the 4th quarter of 2020, Inuwa opined that “there is a need to protect consumers in the sector.”
The Introduction of Service Level Agreement into Government Information Technology Contracts are issued in consonance with Section 6a, 17, 18(4) and 32 of the NITDA Act 2007, and when breached, it is regarded as a breach of the Act.