Date 09 October 2017 Venue: NIPAM

Transcription

1 STATEMENT BY HON. TJEKERO TWEYA, MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE 4 TH NATIONAL ICT SUMMIT IN WINDHOEK. Date 09 October 2017 Venue: NIPAM 1

2 Director of Ceremonies Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Hon Members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on ICT and Innovation, Ms. Micaela Marques De Sousa - UNICEF Representative in Namibia, Dr. Jean- Pierre Ilboudo, UNESCO Representative in Namibia, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Mr. Mbeuta Ua-Ndjarakana, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of ICT, Captains of industry and business in ICT, Esteemed stakeholders, Distinguished Sponsors and Exhibitors, Members of the Media, Ladies and Gentlemen It is my distinct honour and humble privilege to welcome you all wholeheartedly to the 4 th National ICT Summit that is devoted to an in-depth discussion over the next two-to-three days on ICT matters critical to Namibia s, SADC and subsequently Africa s development. Our discussions today will allow us to explore how the principles and institutions that uphold ICT development can be utilised to facilitate, enhance, and accelerate development delivery. Furthermore, we will, together, explore how to translate the increasing strength of voice, social contract and accountability into development impact, not only in Namibia, but once again, our region, SADC, our beautiful Continent, Mother Africa and the world. The theme for the 4 th National ICT Summit is Leveraging ICT to unlock economic opportunities for an inclusive society. By highlighting unlock as an emerging science in development, the theme calls on us to examine the challenges associated with the process of development delivery in Namibia. The theme also leads us to focus on issues 2

3 of inclusion, ownership, unlocking economic opportunities, embedding of development delivery systems, good governance, transparency, disclosure, accountability, basic service delivery and domestic resource mobilization, especially during these tough economic conditions, and taxation, amongst others. As we are all rightfully aware, unlocking economic opportunities for development and sustainable reality is not a precise science. Director of Ceremonies, distinguished invited guests, we are probably in the most exciting period since the wave of our National independence. There is sufficient political, economic, knowledge and social convergence in favour of Namibia s transformation setting the Land of the Brave up for success and prosperity. Our Continent, Mother Africa, is experiencing significant levels of growth and economic prosperity, with the pressing need for more inclusion as our President, His Excellency, Comrade Dr. Hage Geingob affectionately remind us that, I quote: Nobody must feel left out from the Namibian-house, unquote. This call of inclusion by the President is aimed at addressing poverty levels better, unemployment levels better, unequal distribution of wealth levels better, social injustice levels better; hence the Harambee Prosperity Plan master-minded by the President to lead Namibia to prosperity. Our Harambee Prosperity Plan is in the process to profile itself as the development success-story grounded on the foundation of prosperity. Namibia must harness its industrial revolution and the ICT sector must assume the lead role in this regard, but this will not descend accomplishments and milestones overnight. 3

4 Bigger economies such as the US and Great Britian worked on this for a few decades, hence, the success we see today. Namibia is witnessing something astounding. It is during these difficult times that we need to be resolute on the principles Namibia was founded on the 21 st March 1990 that our Government, regions, our communities, and development actors need a credible and reliable social conscience. This is the role, you will concur with me, that the entire value chain of ICT professionals and consumers are best placed and equipped to discharge this function with distinction. We are priviledge this morning, and for the three days, I would like to think, that we have most, if not all, Namibia s best ICT professional minds united [not Manchester United] for a common purpose to maximize ICT expertise for Namibia s growth, Namibia s development and ultimately Namibia s prosperity; and the theme Leveraging ICT to unlock economic opportunities for an inclusive society of the 4 th National ICT Summit, Director of ceremonies, must drive the agenda aggressively to significantly contribute towards the mission that Namibia becomes the prosperous country envisaged by the President and the entire Nation. If anybody wishes to do a paternity test on the Harambee Prosperity Plan that must land Namibia as a prosperous country, I can guarantee you that you will, without a doubt, find the DNA of His Excellency, Comrade Dr. Hage Geingob there. 4

5 The 4 th National ICT Summit is the cumbaya of the ICT sector where all of us get together, we all engage and all we eat, drink, sleep ICT over the next three days or so. And this thought gives me an immense leap of faith for the bright future of ICT development in Namibia and the strategic and unprecedented role and function we, as ICT people, will play to ensure that the President delivers on the election promise of transforming Namibia from great to even GREATER. We, in ICT, must therefore, remain top of mind about the industry and mandate bestowed upon us. Namibia and its people are looking at us; and they keep on exerting valid and justifiable pressure on us, at the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, to deliver on our mandate. Subsequently, the Ministry must cascade that pressure further down the industry to ensure the key players and all service providers of ICT products and services come to the party. You MUST deliver and justify your existence in this ever-changing ICT sector; and failure to do so, you will become obsolete, old-fashioned and outdated which will eventually force you out of this competitive ICT sector. So going forward, we in ICT must balance the elements of hard work, commitment, dedication and very importantly innovation to create measurable progress in the sector. This must be the blue print of the ICT sector. Coincidentally in October, the month of the ICT Summit, the legend, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 26 th October 1967 in Philadelphia said, and I want to borrow from him, and I quote: If you can t fly, run. If you can t run, walk. If you can t walk, crawl, but by all means, we must keep going, keep moving, unquote. 5

6 And this must be the philosophy of the Namibian ICT sector, we must keep going; I know this was a long walk of 27 years, but ICT freedom is the goal and that goal is insight. If you can see far, you must understand that you see far because you stand on the shoulders of a giant, and that giant is non-other than the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology which will eventually deliver ICT freedom for ALL Namibians to enjoy access to this industry which is currently only serving the elite and this is a direct contradiction of nobody must feel left out from the Namibian-house. So, ICT people must take all critic levelled against you by heart; and start looking at the ICT sector from the eyes of those who are left out of the ICT house. So, let us kindly shepherd our people excluded from ICT out of the darkness and dangers of ICT exclusion; and let us create light at the end of the ICT tunnel to facilitate ICT inclusion for ALL Namibians. When we facilitate this inclusion that nobody must feel left out of the Namibianhouse ; we ought to ensure that that inclusion is flawlessly accurate. This 4 th National ICT Summit must take a deep-dive and widespread look in levering ICT to unlock economic opportunities for an inclusive society. My only problem with this theme; and this is a direct challenge I place on the agenda of this ICT Summit and its organisers that the theme is open-ended with no specific deadline when this 4 th ICT Summit commits to unlock the economic opportunities to bring about an inclusive society. 6

7 This cannot just be another theme. Come next year October 2018 at the 5 th National ICT Summit, I will hold you all accountable and question you how far you got in unlocking these economic opportunities to include the broader society of Namibia. If we want to develop ICT at the rate I, as political head of ICT in Namibia wish it must grow; we must do the leg-work to aggressively raise the required funds, even through the Private, Public Partnership arrangement Government put in place. It is these funds that should develop ICT and once ICT operates in full swing countrywide, ICT will build roads, link the towns, support job creation, build our political regions, and join neighboring countries to bring about prosperity in Namibia. These are the telecommunication networks that will take our children to school, taking pregnant mothers to health facilities, crops to markets, goods to-and-from ports, support value chains and taking our economy into orbit; and once these objectives are landed, Namibia will be prosperous, rest assured! Before concluding, Director of ceremonies, 2017 had been a year of renaissance where we, not only Namibia, but our region, SADC, Africa and the world were exposed to tough economic conditions. Despite the narrow thinking from certain sectors of the economy that the current economic melt-down in Namibia was caused by this Government. It just shows that some people do not follow regional, continental and world trends. 7

8 Young people continue to be at the epicenter of unemployment which is over-arching, not only affecting the youth, but other sectors as well. We must, therefore, be insanely excited as ICT people and work beyond the call of duty as owners and leaders of ICT to pave the way for the youth to rapidly and smoothly penetrate sectors of the ICT sector. Corporate Namibia and big ICT companies must start opening up their businesses models for broader shareholding giving young people access to ICT, and rest assured, you will see industrial revolution in ICT once young people are elevated to strategic roles in ICT companies. I thank you for your kind attention! 8