World e-Parliament addresses digital divide

The conference addressed how government leaders need to use modern technology to help improve communication with their constituents, particularly at the grassroots.

Parliaments need to use ICTS

Thomas Stelzer, assistant secretary-general for Policy Coordination and Inter-agency Affairs of the United Nations stressed the need for national parliaments to use information and communication technology (ICT) as a tool to reach out to the less privileged people for the betterment of their countries. He indicated that the use of technology has helped tremendously in the improvement of some major sectors of the economy, hence the need for parliaments to make judicious use of it.

Ntlhoi Motsamai, speaker of the National Assembly of Lesotho, who represented the president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), on her part noted that the IPU is providing the link for advanced parliaments to work with the less advanced ones. She urged the Global Centre for ICT in parliaments and the Office for the Promotion of Parliamentary Democracy to do more to bring a better coorporation between parliaments and donors, so that the citizenry can be the beneficiary.

Usng ICTS efficiently

The chairperson of the National Council of Provinces of South Africa, Mninwa Mahlangu, indicated that parliaments, as part of their law-making functions, must ensure that they work for the interest of the people they represent. That, according to him, can be best done through the efficient utilisation of ICT services. He lamented that in Africa a lot of people are not using ICT because of various infrastructural difficulties that need to be addressed.

The president of the pan-African Parliament, Dr. Moussa Idriss Ndélé, welcomed all delegates to the conference and wished them fruitful deliberations. He added that technological advances have led to changes in the political, economic and cultural sphere in both the advanced and the developing worlds. Ndélé however noted that there were still problems facing African parliaments, such as low technological literacy. He called on the United Nations to help in resolving these problems in order for these parliaments to play a bigger role in the promotion of democracy.

Keeping up with technology

In their keynote addresses, deputy minister of public service and administration of South Africa, Radhakrishna Padayachie, and senior advisor of the Global Centre for ICT in Parliaments, Jeffrey Griffith, talked about the importance of parliaments moving with time as far as technology is concerned. Padayachie said ICT is a vital instrument that can move government to respond faster to the needs of its people. He added that the e-parliament conference presents unique opportunities to the nations to learn and exchange ideas and views on ICT.

Griffith said most parliamentarians around the world are not familiar with technology and that citizens are not familiar with the legislative process. He said websites have become the primary means of communication for parliamentarians, though they do not yet meet some of the most important status. He said although the world is moving faster towards technology, most parliaments still are not making good use of technology.

Getting citizens involved

Presenting Norway's experience, Professor Lasse Berntzen observed that since many citizens are not interested in parliamentary issues, parliament must invite them through information and communication technologies. "Parliaments are generally better on information than participation," he said. He urged his peers to take advantage of what the internet offers: "access to information every day and every time, stronger accountability, etc."

According to Paula Turyahikayo, the vice chair of the ICT Committee of the Ugandan Parliament, the digital divide is all about the information disparity between the different regions of the world. On a positive note, she said "new technologies are finally reaching Africa, thereby gradually bridging the digital divide." In her view "ICTs offer new forms of vertical and horizontal communication that empower a significant revolution in personal life, social communication and democratic affairs."

Fostering relations

To this effect, she announced that the Ugandan government has set well-designed plans to facilitate the use of ICTs. She said "by focusing on access to information, its development and the use of ICTs as a medium to make daily life better, these technologies will bring sustainable development and improve the lives of millions of Ugandans". She insisted on the fact that an e-parliament empowers people to access parliamentary documents. She also outlined social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and other devices such as SMSs, iPods, etc. as being capable of fostering relations between parliamentarians and those who voted them.

On his part, Ukraine's representative, Stanislav Dovhyi said between the years 2010-2015, "my country will create an e-parliament to ensure a better participation of all citizens by insisting on modern technologies and education of staff."

ICTs aid education

From Thailand, Anant Voratitipong looked at ways of reducing the digital divide: "provision of internet services, teaching people how to use Facebook, Twitter and encouraging children to get involved." He ended by suggesting that "to develop democracy, we do not need to have more educated people. ICTs can offer education."

The former Minister of Arts and Culture of the Government of South Africa, Pallo Jordan, in his speech to the conference on the matter of parliaments and the media in the information age, gave an example of how everyone worldwide was able to watch the rescue efforts for the Chilean miners who had been trapped for over two months as an example to show how media is really important in transmission of information to the people.

Cell phone circulation

He said that appropriate steps for communication need to be taken by parliaments to convey information to the public, giving the example of former South African President Nelson Mandela and how he fought for media freedom and how he put the principles of media ahead before the parliament in 1995. He also appreciated the way cell phones have circulated in the rural areas as one of the achievements made by Mandela. Jordan mentioned that ICT should be something of the past and that there should be an effective networking for governments.

Abdelhamid Saadaoui, member of the House of Councillors of Morocco, proposed that the international digital system should be approved because it has the right standards for communication in different languages. He also added that all parliamentarians need to undergo training on how to relate with the media and on how to use technology. As an example from his country, Abdelhamid told the MPs how his country has taken steps in their budget to buy advanced technology tools.

Informing the public

Finally the assistant minister for Youth and Sports from Kenya, Wavinya Ndeti, told delegates how parliaments have used the media, both traditional and new, to inform the public about their work and keep dialogue with the electorate. She summarised by saying that the media has played important roles in the areas of expounding government policies to the citizens, exposing corruption in government and in society, enhancing leadership integrity by keeping leaders on their toes, linking the public with policymakers, being in the forefront in fighting for the public good.

Ndeti then proposed ways on how to expand coverage of parliaments. This is to be done through live broadcasting while parliament is sitting, press briefings on the agenda before parliament as a news item, regular broadcast interviews with ministers, in which the public can submit questions directly, use of local language for parliamentary debates and official documents, use of new media, such as websites and email, to communicate with their constituents and the media, put in place the necessary protection needed to ensure freedom of the press, create information centres in schools and rural areas where there is a wide information gap.