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http://www1.uneca.org/ArticleDetail/tabid/3018/ArticleId/1737/-The-e-SADC-initiative-launch-meeting-opens-in-Gaborone-Botswana-05-06-October-2009.aspx 1/1

"The e-SADC initiative launch meeting” opens in Gaborone, Botswana, 05-06 October 2009

05 October 2009 - eSADC is a joint United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) initiative.

Twenty-five participants drawn from NICI National Focal Points from eight SADC member States, Southern African Postal Operators’ Association (SAPOA), Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA), Communications Regulators’

Association of Southern Africa (CRASA), NEPAD e-Africa Commission, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and e-SADC consultants are attending a two-day technical meeting to launch the e-SADC initiative - a framework for the implementation of the Information Society in the sub-region at the Grand Palm Hotel in Gaborone, Botswana. The member States in attendance are Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

The meeting is the third major stakeholder activity in a three-phased programme to implement the AISI vision at the sub- regional and regional levels through the formulation of the e-SADC initiative which will ensure regional harmonization and capacity building and addressing all major aspects of e-applications including e-postals and content development whilst encouraging public-private partnerships. The major objective of this meeting is to review the consultants’ inception report and progress made with respect to activities in the first phase of the project. The meeting will also review the status and challenges of ICT development in SADC, measuring the impact of ICT usage and fostering partnerships for strategy implementation.

In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Mabua Lesego Mabua, Deputy Permanent Secretary (ICT), Ministry of Communication, Science and Technology, on behalf of the Government of Botswana commended SADC Secretariat’s ICT promotion efforts which were in line with Botswana’s objectives for embracing ICT’s for socio-economic development. He noted the high e-readiness ranking accorded Botswana in the consultants’ phase I initiative benchmarking report and attributed this to concerted efforts by various stakeholders. Mr. Mabua noted some of the challenges facing the region and these included issues such as “e-readiness, implementation and funding”. In concluding he commended UNECA, OSISA, SADC and all stakeholders involved in this process and urged them to turn this initiative into a reality.

In her opening remarks on behalf of the SADC Secretariat, Mrs. Judith Nwako highlighted the positive impact of ICTs on socio- economic development and noted that “the importance of ICT need not be over emphasized, it is well spelt- out under AISI, WSIS and the SADC Declaration”. She advised that SADC had developed three ICT strategies on the conducive environment, deployment of the relevant infrastructure and seamless integration of the ICTs and that others included e-government and human capital development.

Ms. Jennifer Kargbo, the Director UNECA Sub-Regional Office - Southern Africa (SRO-SA), advised that the UNECA had always been at the forefront of supporting ICT initiatives in Africa and in its focus on regional integration and partnering with REC’s, emphasis would continue to be placed on “sensitizing the governments’ on pertinent issues pertaining to ICTs” in as much as they relate to legislation, standardisation and e-government and e-governance. On funding challenges, she noted that

“resources can be mobilized as long as the project requirements are clearly packaged combined with demonstrable commitment.” The Director thanked OSISA for financial support accorded towards the e-SADC launch event.

The representative from OSISA, Mrs. Thandi Mbvundula presented a brief background on OSISA’s objectives and its support to ICT infrastructure development. She emphasized the importance of “content” in the measurement of various parameters such as literacy levels and noted that due to the lack of content and challenges related to local languages, “Africa is invisible on the web; e-absent”. Finally, she commended the UNECA and SADC on the launch of this initiative and stressed the importance of ensuring that the original project objectives are achieved in order to benefit the beneficiaries.

This meeting forms the centre piece for UNECA’s SRO-SA’s multi-year programme with SADC and is supported by the ICT, Science and Technology Division (ISTD).