Commonwealth ICT Summit

Secretary General, Honourable Kamalesh Sharma, could not attend this forum today due to his official travels but has asked me to convey his appreciation for the invitation to the organisers and extends his best wishes for the success of this critical African meeting.

The Secretary General has given ICTs a high priority within the Commonwealth Secretariat. We are clear: there is a direct relationship between economic growth and information and technology strategy and implementation. From the remote village in Guyana which can use the internet to reach new markets for its high quality artistic artifacts, to the Gujarati farmer standing in a field on his mobile phone, receiving weather forecasts or market prices for his crop, we should be in no doubt of its power to change and better lives. There is virtually no single aspect of development or administration today that is not touched by ICTs, or that does not require ICTs for implementation.

The Commonwealth Connects programme was tasked to use the digital bridge to overcome the development divide. Our Secretary General was very pleased to participate in his first meeting of the programme’s Steering Committee on September 12^th, where a new Chair was appointed. Mr. Salomao Manhica from the Republic of Mozambique has accepted our SG’s offer to Chair the Commonwealth Connects Steering Committee. His leadership will ensure that the good work the programme has accomplished over the last two years continues and he will be able to take the Committee to the next level since Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, CEO – CTO is a also a member of this steering committee.

The theme of the forum over the next three days is “Ensuring effective connectivity for a socially inclusive and commercially vibrant Africa”. Connectivity is the backbone for the effective implementation of ICTs in Africa and other regions in the Commonwealth. Without a robust telecommunications network citizens cannot access health services remotely or obtain a good education for their children who are located in remote communities. The Secretariat was pleased with the good work CTO has conducted in COMARCI (Commonwealth African Rural Connectivity Initiative) where the Connects programme provided funding.

We are also involved with educational initiatives for children for example the Secretariat collaborated with the Meraka Institute of South Africa to implement an ICT doorway to encourage the Maseru community in Lesotho to experiment with technology through unassisted learning. The doorway contains over 10,000 e-books from the Gutenburg library. We also encouraged Cameroon women to become entrepreneurs by providing a wealth of information about business opportunities, developing business plans, how to obtain a business number, through Cameroon radio stations. These are just a few examples how ICT could transform societies and bridge the digital divide.

The way forward is to achieve a deeper level of penetration and use of ICTs in Commonwealth member countries, in order to support transformation – political, economic, and social. ICTs are, for us, a means to achieve development and democracy. Countries need ICT strategies, and the structures to manage their implementation. We must, in particular, help lift the smallest and most vulnerable and most in need off the bottom rung.

The Commonwealth is not a resource-rich organisation, in money terms. But its networks, and the goodwill that it generates, can be worth a great deal. We must find ways to accelerate the participation of ICT-wealthy countries in support of ICT-poor countries, and we must discuss how to build effective partnerships with other international organisations and the private sector. It is critical that we work smarter to maximize the return on our own limited investments.

Over the coming months the Commonwealth Secretariat will be delivering a series of workshops designed to build capacity in the Development and Implementation of National ICT Strategies. These Strategies are a necessary pre-requisite before any major investments in ICT can be made. We need to closely link National ICT policies to the National goals and at a global level to the Millenium Development Goals. An ICT roadmap will chart the course for a well orchestrated implementation of technology and will ensure that interoperability issues and islands of technology are prevented.

The Commonwealth Secretariat can open doors where other International Organizations cannot. We will leverage this strength and our reputation as a trusted partner to build multifaceted partnerships with other International Organizations, private sector, donor agencies and ICT Wealthy Commonwealth countries to focus our unique strengths to reduce the broadening digital divide.

I have seen the program for the next three days and I am impressed with the breath of topics that will be covered. I am sure that all the delegates representing member states, corporations and the users of ICT’s will benefit from the 6^th Annual CTO Forum.

With all the best wishes for a successful 6th Annual CTO Forum and Commonwealth ICT Summit.