Www.uneca.org/aisi Enhancing the Role and Effective participation of Parliamentarians in the APRM...

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Enhancing the Role and Enhancing the Role and Effective participation of Effective participation of

Parliamentarians in the APRM Parliamentarians in the APRM processprocess

12 -14 May 2010, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Girma Dessalegn

ICT and Science & Technology Division (ISTD)Economic Commission for Africa

Strengthening African Parliaments Role through the use of ICTs : ECA’s

Experiences


Contents Background

AISI Implementation: ECA activities with African Parliament

ICTs for effective Participation of MPs in the APRM process

The Way Forward


Information Society – A Development challenge

Potential threats

Tendency to expose and exploit inherent weaknesses in the economies of developing countries, particularly Africa

Widening the disparities at domestic levels and internationally

Consequently, new thinking on the relevance of Information Society to development


Information Society – A Development challenge?

Digital gap in Africa represents a development gap, and also

Information factor of production Critical factor in poverty reduction Important in socio-economic sectors,

health, education, agriculture, etc ICTs useful tool in addressing all MDGs Effective implementation of national and

sub-region ICT strategies can address APRM Goals


AISI IMPLEMENTATION & African Parliaments

AfricanInformation Society

Initiative

Regional framework for ICT development – 1996Effective mainstreaming of ICT in national development agendas: PRSPs, MDGs, etc

What is the AISI ?


AISI Launched in 1996AISI Launched in 1996Focus AreasFocus Areas

E-Strategies

AISI

Info & KnowledgeDevelopment

Outreach&

Communication

Partnership &

Networking


E-StrategiesE-Strategies

Regional Information and Communication Infrastructure (RICI)

National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI)

Sectoral Information and Communication Infrastructure (SICI)

Village Information and Communication Infrastructure (VICI)

RICI

VICI

AISI

NICI

SICI

SC

AN

-IC

T

SC

AN

-ICT

Parliaments’ Involvement


AISI & African Parliament

ECA’s work with Africa Parliaments, is geared ECA’s work with Africa Parliaments, is geared

towards towards equipping members and staff of African parliaments equipping members and staff of African parliaments

withwiththe ICT tools and adequate knowledge to the ICT tools and adequate knowledge to support itsprimary functions of representation, law-making

andoversight more effectively - Strategies include:

Strengthen Human and Institutional Capacity: Strengthen Human and Institutional Capacity: Making ICT Work within ParliamentMaking ICT Work within Parliament

Strengthen oversight over Policies roleStrengthen oversight over Policies role Strengthen capacity in harnessing ICT for good Strengthen capacity in harnessing ICT for good

Governance (e-Governance) and democratic Governance (e-Governance) and democratic processes (e-democracy)processes (e-democracy)

Promote ICT for constituencies development and Promote ICT for constituencies development and inter-parliamentary cooperationinter-parliamentary cooperation


Making ICT Work in Parliaments

Train MPs and Staff Train MPs and Staff to use ICTs to access to use ICTs to access information, as well as Internet / Intranet information, as well as Internet / Intranet documentdocument

Support/ advise on the development, extend the Support/ advise on the development, extend the deployment of ICT infrastructuredeployment of ICT infrastructure

Develop strategies to raise awareness within Develop strategies to raise awareness within parliaments on practical benefits of ICT for parliaments on practical benefits of ICT for development, national and sub-regional e-development, national and sub-regional e-strategiesstrategies

Enhance the parliamentary-constituency Enhance the parliamentary-constituency interaction and outreachinteraction and outreach

A total of 500 MPs and staff benefited for A total of 500 MPs and staff benefited for training, 120 Ethiopian MPs by ITCA , Swaziland, training, 120 Ethiopian MPs by ITCA , Swaziland, Gambia and Niger ParliamentsGambia and Niger Parliaments


ICT to strengthen Oversight role

Organise capacity building workshop for the role Organise capacity building workshop for the role

of Parliament in building the Knowledge Society of Parliament in building the Knowledge Society Promoting ICT Committee creation Promoting ICT Committee creation

Ensure that policies are inclusive, sustainable and Ensure that policies are inclusive, sustainable and equitableequitable

Ensure adequate national budget and mobilize Ensure adequate national budget and mobilize other innovative financing mechanismsother innovative financing mechanisms

Adopt adequate legislation for the Information Adopt adequate legislation for the Information Society Society

Ensure that policies monitoring portal made Ensure that policies monitoring portal made available by government available by government

Deploying ICT applications tools for better Deploying ICT applications tools for better Hearings, questions to Governments, other policy Hearings, questions to Governments, other policy setting and scrutiny documentssetting and scrutiny documents

SADC PF, Niger, Gambia, Swaziland, Kenya, SADC PF, Niger, Gambia, Swaziland, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia have benefited from this activity Uganda, Zambia have benefited from this activity more requests are received from ten other more requests are received from ten other ParliamentsParliaments


Promoting ICT for Good-Governance and effective Democracy

Learn from best Practices in Learn from best Practices in e-Governance and e-Democracy e-Governance and e-Democracy

Undertake research on strategies for Undertake research on strategies for promoting e-governance and e-democracy promoting e-governance and e-democracy

Deploying ICT applications tools for Deploying ICT applications tools for better inter-action with citizens better inter-action with citizens

Promote e-governance/ e-democracy Promote e-governance/ e-democracy legislations legislations


ICT empower Parliaments Main Functions


Democracy and Political Governance;Economic Governance and Management;Corporate Governance; andSocio-Economic Development

- Promoting e-democracy Tools:

- E-Government - E-Governance

- Effective e-strategies implementation

- Mainstreaming ICT in development Agendas: MDGs-PRSP-YP

- Promoting e-democracy Tools:

- E-Government - E-Governance

- Effective e-strategies implementation

- Mainstreaming ICT in development Agendas: MDGs-PRSP-YP

SICISICI

RICIRICI

NICINICI

What are we expecting to assess under APRM?

How can ICT Contribute?

Good governance Trust and Accountability Citizen’s awareness and empowerment Citizen’s welfare Democracy Nation’s economic growth


How ICT can empower Parliament in APRM Process- what are the opportunities?

Informed elected representative required access to real time information, best practice

It is vital that Parliament knows what it knows, where to find this knowledge, and how to share accumulated information

ICT can help MP to connect to existing networks, (South

African) ex: Government Communication and Information System (GCIS)

ICTs make it easier and faster for constituents to interact with Parliamentarians and influence lawmaking and oversight of public affairs of direct concern to them


How ICT can empower Parliament in APRM Process- what are the opportunities?

ICT enable MPs know the demands of the stakeholders and hence become more Responsive to their needs

ICTs can render the MP role in APRM process more efficient by providing the means for citizens to express their concerns online

ICTs, therefore, have a vital role to play in

providing both MPs and citizens with access to ready-to-use, reliable data and specialized information


What are the opportunities? Knowledge repository, blogs, personalized websites, citizen portals, webcasting, radio-streams, public access points, database, e-mails, e-forum can be used by MP in the APRM process, these applications can help to :

to strengthen interaction between Parliament, Government Departments, civil society and the public (case of India)

to get views, analyze, assess a situation etc

to undertake research tasks to be well informed about citizens’ concerns

benchmark with other best practices in other countries

assess any shortcomings in the performance of ministries in APRM framework


What are the opportunities?

Civil society participation in diagnosis

Monitoring of results on the ground

Transforming representative democracy into a participative one;


Way ForwardCreate in the Parliament or

strengthen

APRM COMMITTEE

ICT COMMITTEE


Thank You !Thank You !

http://www.uneca.org/aisi/http://www.uneca.org/aisi/

[email protected]@uneca.org

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