Use of ICT to support governance in Africa
International debate has recently highlighted the centrality and importance of "good governance" for sustainable development. In Africa, this will support efforts to address the continent's underdevelopment and marginalisation.
Tsietsi Maleho, Empowerment Initiatives Manager and Martin Yuill, Enterprise Support and Networking Manager at The Innovation Hub, represented the Hub at a regional workshop on "Building e-Governance capacity in African countries".
Organised as a New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) initiative, the workshop was attended by more than 450 participants. The objectives were to:
Workshop organisers/partners
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Ministry for Public Service & Administration and its African Training & Research Centre |
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The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs' Division for Public Economics and Public Administration |
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| Participants included Ministers, decision and policy makers responsible for the promotion of governance and the overall implementation of ICT, senior government officials from African countries and representatives from civil society organisations, the private sector and regional and international organisations.
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Raise awareness of opportunities offered by e-Government in economic and social development
- Present and explore the use of e-Government to foster democracy, efficiency and transparency to increase the ability of countries to attract foreign investment and financial assistance
- Debate the key challenges facing governments in the design and implementation of e-Government programmes
- Prepare high-level officials to implement e-Governance in their respective countries that supports current efforts in economic, institutional and administrative reform programmes, and
- Provide a platform for high-level officials, representatives of civil society organisations and key stakeholders from Africa to exchange views on the implementation of a Plan of Action on e-Governance for Africa.
Themes addressed during the workshop included African experiences with e-Governance in development and the need for institutional, administrative and economic reforms and private sector promotion, as well as social development and a policy and strategy for Africa.
According to Yuill, the workshop represented an important momentum in the increasing efforts to transform African institutions to effectively meet the challenges of the 21st century and facilitate the integration of capacity development and reform interventions in existing programmes to strengthen the endeavours of Africa to prosper as a continent.
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