Govt officials blamed for computer-skill expense

Press, 11 January 1986, Page 25

Govt officials blamed for computer-skill expense

PA Wellington Blinkered attitudes by Government departments towards New Zealand computer expertise is costing the nation millions of dollars each year, says Mr Perce Harpham, a former president of the Computer Society and founder of New Zealand’s first software company. His company, Progeni, of Lower Hutt, had been at the raw end of deals awarded to foreign competitors because of the “overseas expert syndrome,” he said. “I would guess that we are spending in the order of

|lO million a year in overseas funds unnecessarily, and that figure will escalate,” Mr Harpham said. That was only the cost of paying for expatriates to work in New Zealand in the public and private sector. Mr Harpham said New Zealand could do without them and that their presence was mainly because of the approach taken by the biggest supplier of contracts, the Government. “The overseas expert syndrome is particularly pronounced in Government. The conventional wisdom is

that it is safe for a public servant to choose an overseas expert or supplier where it is expected that they may be subject to some criticism if they chose a local equivalent,” Mr Harpham said.

Mr Harpham said that 60 per cent of Progeni’s business was overseas where the company was treated better than at home.

“Our experience with Federal and state purchasing in Australia is so much better than our experience in New Zealand,” Mr Harpham said.