The meeting concluded the following, if Parliaments are to make meaningful contributions to the development and deployment of ICTs in the SADC region: that
- ICTs are an important tool for building an inclusive information society and enabling parliamentary processes and practice;
- ICTs are an enabler and not an end in themselves; they are not an "add on" and therefore need to be mainstreamed across all sectors to accelerate Regional integration and development;
- For effective harnessing of ICT for socio-economic development there is a need for a framework and guideline within which to develop and deploy ICTs at national, regional and continental levels;
During this meeting the delegates recognised the critical role of a dedicated structure within parliaments that will focus on strategizing ICTs development and effective use at both national and constituency levels to accelerate the achievement of RISDP, MDG's and other country specific development agendas.
They agreed that to effectively harness the potential of ICTs to promote effective and professional intra-parliamentary practice it was imperative to establish, in cases where they are non existent, or strengthen, national ICT Parliamentary Committees and develop an ICT plan of action.
"I want to promise this meeting that I am going to immediately raise a motion in my Parliament to push for a separate ICT Committee, but we will need support and strengthening of our capacity to be an effective Committee" Hon Sibusiso Nkambule, MP from Swaziland said.
To this end the SADC Parliamentary Forum through the Leadership Centre and in conjunction with other implementing partners assured the members of their continued support.
The advantages of having harmonized policies and regulations for economic integration as well as the important role of legislation and enforcement of such legislation for electronic economic exchange were discussed.
Members concluded that they have a critical role to play in the development of national and regional e-strategies through developing appropriate and supportive legislation and contributing to securing innovative financing mechanisms for ICT development.
For this to happen it was therefore important to organise themselves and make comprehensive contributions to the development and implementation of National ICT policies.
They noted also the critical role of a well developed ICT infrastructure to the economic development of SADC countries; the need to be part of the development of regional ICT infrastructure, and that the pace of technology change requires appropriate approaches to decision making in relation to the adoption and deployment of emerging technologies.
Members of Parliament thus, committed themselves to be more diligent, and to raise motions that will lead to the much needed implementation of ICT policies in SADC Countries.
The meeting further acknowledged the need for Members of Parliament to have appreciation of the issues driving the knowledge economy and their relevance to the national socio-economic development targets; the urgent need of national and regional ICT policy development and effective implementation; the need to adopt strategies of change management to facilitate the adoption of ICTs by Members of Parliament and the SADC Citizenry; the importance of Public Private Partnerships in providing financial and technical resources that drive the development agenda; the meeting encouraged the PLC and national parliaments to continue organizing capacity building and awareness raising activities on different ICT issues and organizing study missions in countries with best practices
As a result of the deliberations the meeting recommended that a SADC Parliamentary Forum ICT Policy and strategy be developed to guide the development and adoption of ICTs at the regional level and to act as a framework for national Parliaments' consideration; the promotion of ICT for Development activities within Constituencies be continued and strengthened; the promotion of effective inter-parliamentary cooperation through the creation and use of communication tools such as websites linking to other Parliaments/Sub-regional Parliament Institution websites (IPU, and others) and participating at Parliament meetings and forums at sub-regional and global level by members and staff of Parliaments be further strengthened.
Also important to the process was the need to promote the use of e-democracy tools such as e-voting, e-government and e-governance.
Meanwhile IT/ICT Managers of the same Parliaments remained behind to map out a regional strategy to contribute effectively to supporting Parliament and Members of Parliaments in developing these ICTs further.
The Regional Strategy will drive the development of a regional plan of action which will be used as a guideline at the national parliaments, and implemented at national and regional levels.
The strategy aims to build a network of e-parliaments that can contribute comprehensively to the integration of SADC region through effective use of ICTs throughdeveloping the capacity of parliaments, staff and members of Parliament to effectively use ICTs; facilitating information and knowledge sharing through interconnectivity and access among Parliaments; facilitating sectoral integration and mainstreaming of ICTs for socio-economic development; enhancing the performance and delivery of Parliaments; and reducing the digital divide in Parliaments.
A special focus has been identified, the development of a special programme that will target Women Parliamentarians and work towards the reduction of a gender digital divide in Parliaments
These workshops were made possible though support from partners from the Economic Commission for Africa, Africa Capacity Building Foundation, OSISA and contributions from the SADC Secretariat, Uganda Parliament, GIJIMA AST and the UNDP Regional Services Centre. '
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Quelle/Source: The Southern Times, 22.10.2009
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