Rwanda’s minister for ICT has told all government institutions in that country that they have to switch to the National Data Centre (NDC) for their IT services.

The data centre has cost the government $5 million.

Currently, the facility hosts e-Government services and various applications. But the government is intent on maximising the use of the costly data centre.

“The process will take time but the government is encouraging all institutions to migrate,” said Rwanda minister of youth and information communication technology, Jean Philbert Nsengimana.

"This will help improve service delivery but also ensure that we don’t waste our resources,” he added.

The data centre facility forms part of Rwanda’s 2020 plan to transform the country into a knowledge-based economy by 2020.