ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT
ALHADJI DR YAHYA A.J.J JAMMAEH
GAMBIA
Mr Chairman, Excellencies,
Distinguish Ladies and gentlemen
This summit is unique in the sense that
it reaffirms our global solidarity and commitment to
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as an
engine of growth for social and economic development.
Mr. Chairman,
The African continent is quite aware of
the huge potentials ICTs hold for the attainment of the
Millennium Developments Goals and the PRSPs. It is for this
reason that various regional consultations have been held to
advance Africa's capacity to harness and leverage ICTs to
improve the socio-economic conditions of its people.
Therefore, the commitment to use ICT as an entry point into
the information society gave rise to the African Information
Society Initiative (AISI). This commitment is considered not
only with the national development blueprint of the Gambia
(Vision 2020) which seeks to develop and use electronic
information for development, but also the spirit embodied in
the African Union and the NEPAD framework for the
development of the African continent.
In this respect and within the framework
of the AISI, the United Nations Economic Commission for
Africa( UNECA), assisted the Gambia to design an
e-Government strategy to advance good governance, increase
quality and efficiency in delivery of service to the
citizenry and
government agencies, and lb for
transparency and accountability in public resource
management.
It was against this background that the
ECA Committee for Development Information (CODI) meeting in
May 2003 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia designated the Gambia to
become an AISI model for e-Government for the African
Continent.
In this regard, I would like to express
my sincere gratitude to the UNECA and it's partners for the
support to the development of the strategy, and further
solicit assistance to implement the strategy.
Mr. Chairman,
Over the past two years, The Gambia
Government registered significant achievements in ICT
development. Notably, the e- Government Strategy and Action
Plan; establishment of a national ICT Commission;
development of a National Information and Communication
Infrastructure policy (NICI); connected 10 Departments of
State (Ministries) to the Internet via a high-speed wireless
access; encouraged government departments and agencies to
develop their websites; registered a "gov.gm" domain name
for exclusive use of Government; instituted a central email
service for government employees: arrange for the
development of IT human resources, support personnel. Again
with the support of the UNECA lunched stakeholder networks
in Gender, Youth, Parliamentarians and the Media for policy
dialogue with the use of PCTs.
In the area of telecoms infrastructural
development significant increase have been registered in
access to the rural areas through the deployment of wireless
technology.
By the end of 2005 it is projected that
every village in the Gambia will have access to broadband
services.
Similarly, in the area of Human resources
development and with support from the ITU, the Department of
State for Communication, Information & Technology in
collaboration with the Gambia Telecommunications and
Multimedia Institute (GTMI) has instituted a Basic Internet
Training (BIT) programme for government employees and
vulnerable groups in Gambian society.
More recently, a study has been launched
to identify ICT indicators and to measure its value in the
national economy, and consequently integrate this exercise
in the National Statistics data collection framework as
prescribed by the WSIS plan of action.
Mr, Chairman, Distinguished Excellencies,
Since WSIS I in Geneva, The Gambia has
continued to build and strengthen partnerships to leverage
ICTs to improve governance and deployment of the
technologies in national development effort. To this end,
The Gambia strongly associates itself with the Africa
Regional Action Plan for the Knowledge Economy (ARAPKE) in
its quest to further accelerate it's ICT development
efforts.
Whilst we continue to be inspired and
guided by the Declaration of Principles of The Information
Society. and as we work towards the Action Plan to bridge
the dic.ital divide that exists and the Tunis Agenda for the
Information Society, I humbly enjoin heads of state and
Government to do everything possible to pave the way to the
successful
building of an inclusive information and
knowledge-based society. A society where no one individual
is left behind in utilizing the potential benefits offered
by information and communication technologies.
Mr Chairman,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
These noble goals and objectives can only
be achieved if the richer countries that are far ahead of
the rest of the world in ICTs make a commitment to share
their resources and technological know-how with the poorer
and less advanced countries of the world. In the same vein I
applaud the digital solidarity agenda initiative and I
commend all those that have contributed to the digital
solidarity fund.
However let me quickly say that While we
embrace the benefits of ICTs in combating poverty and social
exclusion, we must remain alert to their potential criminal
abuse by deviant elements. It is therefore crucial that
strong international cooperation frameworks are developed
and utilized to combat cyber-crime in all its forms.
Mr. Chairman
Before I conclude let me add my voice to
the other voice that have called for freedom of
expression/freedom of press. My emphasis on the call for
freedom of press is responsibility. As we participate in
this world summit on the Information society, let us not
forget that it was an
irresponsible bit of information that
brought genocide in a beloved African country. How many
times La exercising the right to freedom of expression have
we incited violence, border crisis and civil unrest.
Let us use this powerful tools - ICTs to
promote health, education, agriculture, good governance, the
list goes on. We are tired of senseless wars and the
destruction of many years of hard work. We can nuture peace
and development with the use of ICTs and make this world a
better place for all.
It is with great pleasure that we look
forward to the outcome of this second phase of WSIS being
held in the beautiful city of Tunis. I thank His Excellency
President Zine Abdine Ben Ali, his Government and people the
of Tunisia for their hospitality and for their efforts in
making this event a success.
On this note, I once again wish to
underscore my pleasure to be able to participate in such
epoch-making event and hope that the outcome will be
beneficial to all the inhabitants of our planet.
Thank you for you kind attention. |