BY KING’S OFFICE CORRESPONDENTS
SEOUL, KOREA – Eswatini has informed the global community that it is on a drive to bring government closer to the people using the latest trends in digital innovation.
This was presented by the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Minister, Savannah Maziya, at the 10th Global ICT Leadership Forum yesterday.
She was speaking under the theme “Strengthening Korea-Africa solidarity through digital innovation.” South Korea is a leader in the global tech industry and has much to offer in terms of expertise and infrastructure.
The minister pointed out that technology is fast developing whether we are ready or not and must, therefore, leverage technology for sustainable development and that is why she found the summit’s theme very important.
“As Eswatini, we realise that technology, digitisation, when done properly, inclusively, can develop our economic and social progress. We also understand that we need to leapfrog in many areas to be part of the future,” the minister said.
“We in Eswatini also understand very clearly that the next 20 years will be very different from the past 20 years, and so in doing that, part of our strategy is to ensure that we bring everybody in the country closer to the government and, more importantly, the government close to the people.
“What we have done as a starting point is to launch a programme called ‘Government in Your Hand’ and that basically says all the 200 services plus that the services government offers can now be accessible through your phone or through community centres where we will have data centres,” she said.
Maziya said it is important to give emaSwati dignity and further open up access to businesses.
“It’s also important to give our youth an opportunity to be able to access this area of digitization, because if we can do that, then we will rely more on them creating companies than on them getting jobs. That’s very critical to us and we want to be able to continuously have innovation and inclusion as our mantra,” the ICT minister said.
Maziya stated that in order to make this possible, the country must assemble the necessary legislation, possess the necessary skills and make continuous investments in infrastructure, all of which the country is currently undertaking.
The minister said the Kingdom is currently introducing a 5G network.
“We are fully aware that, as a continent that has fallen behind in certain areas, we need to make significant progress. We must ensure that to be able to catch up with the rest of the developed world, we have got to leapfrog certain areas. You have got to be really, really aggressive and focused on ensuring that we do that,” Maziya said. She stated that the country has made significant investments in a state-of-the-art data and biotech centre, which will serve as a catalyst and engine for the Kingdom, enabling the inclusion of all its citizens and, crucially, fostering research, technology and collaboration within this centre.
“One of the things that we want to be able to do is figure out how we can collaborate with South Korea in our area of leapfrogging and really be more about action than talking.
“I think most times, as governments, we like to talk a lot but not really be active. We must deal as if our lives depend on it; we can’t afford to be left behind as a continent in this particular revolution. So our focus is to be able to understand the collaboration and ensure that we are working on a win-win approach,” the ICT minister said.
She stated that the Kingdom’s collaboration with a country such as Korea will result in mutual benefits, as emaSwati place a strong emphasis on culture and inclusivity.
Going forward, our goal is to explore ways to collaborate effectively in that specific environment, while also implementing biometrics to ensure safety and security. We need to use legislation to ensure that there is certainty for businesses and citizens, while also protecting people’s private information. But leapfrogging we must, collaborating we must and being action-oriented absolutely,” she said.
The Global Leadership Forum was taking place alongside the Korea-Africa Summit, which was attended by His Majesty the King together with 47 African leaders.
The aim is to foster cooperation between the Republic of Korea and African nations in the ever-evolving fields of ICT and how it can shape industries and societies, including education and healthcare.
The forum further aims to explore avenues for collaboration, identify challenges and opportunities and ultimately pave the way for a mutually beneficial partnership that advances technology for a sustainable and inclusive future.
