May 05, 2008

In collaboration with the Parliament of Zambia, the ICT, Science and technology Division (ISTD) and ECA Sub-regional Office of Southern Africa, facilitated a 2-day MPs workshop on “The role of Parliament in promoting an inclusive Information Society in the Zambia” from 19-20 April 2008. More than twenty Members of Parliaments and Staff participated in the vent. The workshop was organized in the context of ECA’s e-Policy Resource Network for Africa (ePolnet: www.epolafrica.org), which was set up with support from the Government of Canada to provide expertise, guidance and advice to African countries implementing national e-strategies.

The specific objectives of the workshop were:

• Familiarize members of Parliament with ECA’s mandate for building the African Information Society and the strengthening the role of Parliament;
• Familiarize Members of Parliaments (MPs) on their role in ICT Policy formulation, planning and monitoring;
• Engage Members of Parliament involve in the area of ICT on how to actively participate in the e-strategies process, through the establishment of an ICT Committee within the Parliament;
• Develop a Parliament sectorial ICT Policy and Strategy
  

In his opening remarks, Honourable D M Syakalima noted that there’s a growing evidence that a digital area driven by ICT has the power to transform the production process, education, health, citizen participation and other aspects of our individuals and collective lives. ICT is life and Members of Parliament should play a critical role in this process he concluded.

Mr. Latigo Alfred, the Officer in Charge of the ECA sub-regional Office of Southern Africa explained that the role of parliamentarians as publicly elected officials and lawmakers of the country placed them at the centre of the process of building an inclusive information society towards improving efficiency in delivering the MDGs and accelerating the achievements of development agendas objectives.

The workshop served as a platform to launch the development of the Zambia Parliament ICT Policy and Strategy as a pilot phase of the implementation of the SADC Parliamentary Forum ICT Strategy a flagship program of e-SADC Policy underway. It increased the understanding of the Members of Parliament on their role in supporting the implementation of the national ICT Policy and Strategy through the creation and strengthening of ICT Committee function within the Parliament.

For more information, please contact: Thierry H. Amoussougbo (tamoussougbo@uneca.org)