INFORMANTÉ informs: Statement delivered by Hon. Joel Kaapanda, Minister of Information and Communication Technology this morning at the IEC Summit in Windhoek. ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, HONOURABLE JOEL KAAPANDA, AT THE 7TH TELECOM NAMIBIA ICT SUMMIT 2013 SAFARI HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTRE, 7 AUGUST 2013 Director of Ceremonies Mr. Joseph Iita, Board Chairman of Telecom Namibia Mr.Frans Ndoroma, MD of Telecom Namibia Representatives of various ICT Companies and Exhibitors Distinguished Invited Guests Members of the Media Ladies and Gentlemen Good Morning. Today, it gives me great pleasure to attend the Telecom Namibia ICT Summit 2013, which addresses the main theme, “ICT – New Horizons”. On behalf of the Government of Namibia and indeed on my own behalf, as Minister responsible for ICT, I would like to warmly welcome you all to this important event and to our beautiful City of Windhoek. In its seventh year after inception, the Telecom Namibia ICT Summit has earned a reputation as a prestigious forum with the objective of contributing to innovative thinking; increase awareness to embrace ICT as the foundation for new developing methods; as indispensable for a knowledge-based society; for improving the national competitiveness and contributing to Namibia’s fast and sustainable growth. Whilst Namibia has grown its ICT sector over the years, we must continue leveraging technological innovations to create new strengths, and equip ourselves for the next phase of ICT development. In line with our NDP4, adequate ICT infrastructure should be in place by 2017 to facilitate economic development and competitiveness through innovation, research and development. Our Government recognises ICT as the building blocks of economic growth, and our ICT policy with respect to Namibia’s Vision 2030 is to position ICT as a driver of our national socio-political and economic development and increased democracy – especially that of democratising information, and economic growth. Director of ceremonies, Distinguished ladies and gentlemen: We live in a world where ICT and innovation play a central role in creating economic growth. The past two decades has shown an increasing acknowledgement of the importance of ICTs for development at international, national and local levels. ICTs have been shown to have developmental applications in education, governance, environmental monitoring, health, human rights promotion, economic growth and other areas. The desired economic development benefits therefore extend well beyond potential economic growth and wealth creation. For example, ICT can enable (a) better access to government services, (b) increased quantity and quality of training opportunities, (c) a balancing of gender inequalities in access to opportunities, (d) improved delivery of quality health services. Technological convergence taking place in the ICT field globally, have also opened numerous horizons that are rapidly transforming the way we work, live, play, and most importantly - the way we relate to one another. I believe, all of this provides us a chance of creating a better Namibia, especially to address poverty alleviation and human development. It is evident that new technologies favour no geographical space, social class, economic background, education achievement, age, gender and political affiliations. It is in this very unique nature of new technologies that its greatest strength lies. Director of ceremonies: For Namibia however to meet the goals of NDP4, which ends with the 2016/17 fiscal year, integration of ICT is required in all areas of economic priority, all investment projects, in logistics, tourism, manufacturing and agriculture. These requirements must be institutionalised. This will ensure that Namibia put in place the basic economic development enablers, and thus create an enabling environment to achieve high and sustained economic growth, increased income equality and employment creation, as per the goals of NDP4. Development of public infrastructure, including ICT infrastructure, will contribute towards addressing extreme poverty, and enable our industries to perform at the required level of output. I therefore highly value the continued initiative of Telecom Namibia to host this Summit annually. It is fitting therefore, that the theme for this year’s Telecom Namibia’s ICT Summit is “ICT – New Horizons”. This underscores the important role that ICT plays in a highly connected world, in promoting socio-economic development and innovation. With ICT as a central pillar for future growth to reach new horizons, our key challenge is to understand the potential of ICT as a tool to shape our economy and to meet future challenges. In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, it is my hope that our overseas guests will have a memorable stay in Namibia. I also wish you a most fruitful and rewarding experience at this year’s Telecom Namibia ICT Summit 2013. It now gives me great pleasure to declare 7th Telecom Namibia ICT Summit 2013 open. I thank you!
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 09:22:16 +0000
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