|
STATEMENT BY H.E. THE PRIME MINISTER A. T.
DLAMINI
(MP)
SWAZILAND
Your Excellency President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of the
Republic of Tunisia,
Your Excellencies Heads of State and Government,
Your Excellency UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan,
ITU Secretary General,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. Introduction.
Your Excellencies Heads of State and Government,
I bring you warm and fraternal greetings
from his majesty king Mswati III, the Queen Mother and the
people of Swaziland. Allow me to express, on behalf of the
Swaziland delegation and on my own behalf, our sincere
gratitude and appreciation to the government and the people
of the Republic of Tunisia for the warm reception and
generous hospitality which has been extended to us since our
arrival here in this historic and beautiful city of Tunis.
May I also congratulate the Government of
Tunisia and the United Nations for organizing this second
phase of the World Summit on Information Society, as his
Excellency Kofi Annan has said, is an important forum
through which we can consider how best to use this global
asset-information technology.
It is almost two years since Heads of
State and Government met in Geneva, to forge a common vision
of building an Information Society, which will put people
first and foster participation and development in our
respective countries.
2. ICT development in Swaziland.
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Kingdom of Swaziland like many other
developing countries acted upon the conclusions of the first
phase of the Summit.
We created an inclusive and
multidisciplinary team whose mandate was to draft a national
information, and telecommunications technology policy (ICT)
The drafting process drew together a wide
range of stakeholders including: government, private sector,
civil society, academia, to mention just a few.
I particularly like to acknowledge here
the input and advice we received from external agencies such
as the economic commission for Africa (ECA) and other
agencies who played a pivotal role during the policy
development by providing technical and financial assistance
in the policy formulation process.
In drafting the policy, the Kingdom of
Swaziland has taken into account the importance of capacity
building at all levels of society. Since Geneva, we have
witnessed a number of capacity building initiatives which
have taken place through the assistance of our partners.
However, a large gap in capacity still remains between
developing countries, like Swaziland, and developed
economies that have spearheaded the information technology
revolution. We therefore, call for a closer cooperation
between the developing and developed countries to bridge the
digital divide.
May I point out that, the Kingdom of
Swaziland has intensified the promotion of ICT programmes
and through the assistance of UNDP we have introduced ICT
centers in some villages with a view of bridging the digital
divide between the urban and rural population.
Government has also embarked in the
provision of ICT development in schools. Currently, most of
our schools offer computer lessons, and already have access
to internet services, of course with the assistance of
cooperating partners and friends of Swaziland. In addition,
all government ministries and departments now have access to
computer and internet services.
The Kingdom of Swaziland encourages and
supports the participation of private internet service
providers and there are currently seven major Internet
Service Providers (ISP’s). We also have a media policy in
place which enhances information flow and platforms
throughout the Kingdom.
Information technology infrastructure,
access and literacy are all important to development and we
recognize that if we are to succeed our policies and action
plans must be closely aligned with our wider social and
economic development strategies.
Inclusiveness and access are important in
this regard while at the same time affordability and
equitability are critical considering the low income levels
and poverty in the rural areas. All these efforts must also
take into account people with disability and physically
challenged members of our society.
3. Conclusion
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,
Distinguished Delegates,
In conclusion, may I once again emphasize
that the Kingdom of Swaziland is committed to promote the
development of ICT in the country. And we believe that, that
is the only way we can compete in the global economy and
markets. There is no doubt that ICT creates opportunities
for all irrespective of status in society.
I thank you.
|
