National digital transformation strategies in Africa | IGF 2023 Open Forum #124

Audience

In Africa, the tracking and prosecution of cybercrime is often impeded by poor addressing systems and high residence mobility. This poses a significant challenge for law enforcement agencies trying to identify and apprehend individuals involved in criminal activities using SIM cards. The absence of a proper addressing system in many African countries further hinders the tracking of cybercrime. As a result, there is a pressing need for digital addressing in Africa to enhance cybersecurity and facilitate more efficient law enforcement.

Digital addressing would provide a specific location for every citizen, allowing law enforcement agencies to more effectively identify and track individuals involved in criminal activities. It is important to note that digital addressing is not synonymous with surveillance; rather, it aims to establish a means of knowing the whereabouts of individuals, facilitating the provision of safety measures, and improving law enforcement efforts.

In addition to digital addressing, there is also a need for the capacity building of judges to ensure the effective implementation of digital laws. The successful implementation of legislation involves various stakeholders, including the executive, Parliament, civil society, and the judiciary. The judiciary plays a critical role in interpreting the laws, ensuring their proper application, and upholding justice. Therefore, providing judges with the necessary knowledge and skills to understand and apply digital laws is crucial to their effective implementation.

Moreover, judicial transformation in Africa has the potential to advance democracy. This notion was expressed by a member of parliament from Cameroon who recognized that transforming the judicial system could contribute to improving governance and democratic processes in Africa. By enhancing the independence, efficiency, and transparency of the judiciary, judicial transformation can help ensure fair and just legal systems, thereby promoting democracy and the rule of law.

The African Union (AU) should also consider conducting a survey on the impact of member countries not adopting the Malawi Convention for digital transformation. The low adoption of this convention in member countries is hindering the advancements in digital transformation across the continent. Understanding the reasons behind this low adoption rate can help the AU address the challenges and advocate for the implementation of digital transformation strategies more effectively.

On a positive note, The Gambia is making significant progress in its digital transformation strategy with guidance from the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The country has successfully laid broadband networks across the country through projects such as the ECHO-1 project and the National Broadband Network. The Gambia has also developed an ICT master plan that encompasses various aspects, including capacity development, youth and women empowerment, human capital, e-agriculture, and national broadband network strategies. Additionally, consultancy for a digital ID system has been completed with the assistance of the ECA. The Gambia is also in the process of establishing a digital addressing system, with the capital and major cities already covered. These efforts demonstrate The Gambia’s commitment to embracing digital transformation and reaping its numerous benefits.

Overall, improving digital addressing, capacity building of judges, and promoting judicial transformation are essential steps towards enhancing cybersecurity, law enforcement, and democracy in Africa. Conducting surveys and providing guidance on digital transformation strategies will further support the continent’s progress in this regard. The Gambia serves as a notable example of a country making commendable strides in their digital transformation journey.

Luís Soares Barbosa

The analysis highlights several important points regarding the digital transition in Africa. It acknowledges that Africa has both weaknesses and frogging opportunities. One key strength is its vibrant youth population, which can drive digital transformation. Moreover, Africa faces fewer legacy challenges than other regions, giving it an advantage in embracing new technologies.

One argument made is the importance of digital governance in the digital transition process. Effective digital governance can significantly impact the successful implementation and adoption of digital technologies. Case examples from Cape Verde and Gambia support this argument, demonstrating the positive outcomes achieved through effective digital governance.

The European Union (EU) has a vision to strengthen Africa’s economic sector and make it a producer in the global economy. The EU aims to promote diversification and development through strategies that foster economic growth and encourage active participation in the global economy.

Improving the effectiveness of government and public administration in the digital transition is another vital aspect. By bringing the state closer to citizens and meeting their needs, governments can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their digital initiatives. Examples from Cape Verde and Gambia illustrate the positive impact of such approaches.

While digital technology holds great potential, it is important to note that there are no free lunches. This means that careful consideration and planning are required to address challenges and ensure equitable distribution of benefits.

Cooperation and proper management capabilities are essential for effective digital governance. Collaboration between different ministries and the development of management capabilities play a crucial role in implementing and managing digital initiatives successfully.

Political will is crucial for the transformation towards a more democratic system. Strong support and commitment from political leaders are necessary to implement necessary reforms and ensure a smooth transition to a democratic and inclusive society.

Building collective trust through digital technologies is also important. Digital technologies can improve citizens’ lives and contribute to building trust. This trust is vital for sustainable adoption and acceptance of digital technologies.

African governments face challenges in attracting and maintaining technical skills. Technical skills often move to the private sector or abroad, posing a challenge for governments seeking a skilled workforce to drive digital transformation.

Digital identity is crucial in the digital transition. The Weneke case in Gambia serves as a pilot project for creating digital identities using local communities. Digital identity provides access to services, improves inclusion, and ensures security and privacy.

Investment in Africa to design national and sectorial strategies is beneficial. Investing in the justice sector has resulted in positive outcomes. Emphasizing engagement processes over relying solely on data is crucial in designing effective strategies and policies.

In conclusion, Africa has weaknesses and frogging opportunities in its digital transformation journey. Effective digital governance, the EU’s vision for the economic sector, improving government effectiveness, and citizen-state interaction are essential for successful digital transition. Challenges such as attracting technical skills and the importance of digital identity are also key considerations. The analysis provides valuable insights into driving digital transformation in Africa.

Lamin Camara

During a recent discussion, several key initiatives were highlighted to address digital transformation and promote sustainable development goals in the country. One of the primary areas of focus is addressing connectivity. To improve connectivity, the government plans to create more capacity and redundancy for existing submarine cables. This will enhance the country’s ability to provide reliable and high-speed internet access to its citizens.

Regarding digital identification, the government has developed a comprehensive digital master plan and strategy. One of the challenges mentioned during the discussion was the need for better coordination and data integration. To address this, the government plans to integrate existing digital addressing systems and SIM registration platforms. By streamlining these processes, the government aims to enhance the efficiency and security of digital identification systems.

Promoting financial inclusion is another important aspect of the country’s digital transformation efforts. The government is focused on establishing a national switch, which will facilitate payment gateways and enable easier access to financial services for all citizens. This initiative aims to reduce financial barriers and empower individuals to participate fully in the economy.

Cybersecurity is a critical concern in the digital age, and the government is taking proactive steps to address this issue. The development of a cybercrime bill is underway, which will help establish a legal framework to prevent and combat cyber threats. Additionally, plans are in place to establish cybersecurity emergency response teams. These dedicated teams will be equipped to swiftly respond to and mitigate any cyber attacks, thereby safeguarding the country’s digital infrastructure.

The digital divide, referring to the unequal accessibility to digital technologies and internet connectivity, is another challenge being addressed. The government has identified challenges related to last mile network access and device affordability. To bridge this gap, the government plans to develop strategies that utilize mixed technologies. Furthermore, collaborations with device providers are being explored to achieve affordable options and increase accessibility to digital devices.

Notably, the government is also keen on developing localized e-applications that address specific local problems. To avoid reinventing the wheel, the government intends to adopt successful platforms from partner countries. Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) have already been signed with countries such as Rwanda, Mauritius, and Nigeria to facilitate the exchange of innovative digital solutions.

In conclusion, the country is actively pursuing various initiatives to achieve digital transformation and support sustainable development goals. Efforts are being made to enhance connectivity, improve digital identification systems, promote financial inclusion, ensure cybersecurity, bridge the digital divide, and develop localized e-applications. These initiatives demonstrate the government’s commitment to leveraging digital technologies for the benefit of its citizens and overall socio-economic growth.

Anand Ramaswamy

Digital transformation has the potential to advance Africa, and the development of the ECA payment system is one initiative towards this goal. However, cybercrime acts as a hindrance to digital transformation, with underreporting being a key issue. Mobile money schemes and other cybercriminal activities pose challenges in this regard. There is a need for robust cybersecurity measures, considering the unique legal frameworks of each African country. Technical solutions, like cell site triangulation and surveillance cameras, have been effective in combating corruption and fraud. Specific training for judges is also necessary to strengthen the judicial system. By addressing these challenges, Africa can unlock the full potential of digital transformation and foster sustainable development.

Joao Cruz

Cap Verde has made significant progress in digitalisation since the early 20s, presenting big opportunities for enhancing service delivery. The country has numerous office infrastructures and applications that can be utilised to build services for its citizens. Cap Verde also has a unique system for digital identification, enabling the development of multiple services. Recently, an online service was launched allowing citizens to access their criminal records through a new Mobile Key based on digital certificates.

To further support their digital initiatives, Cap Verde is creating a digital ecosystem through a technological park and the establishment of two new data centres. The technological park will house several companies, including government data. This development aligns with Cap Verde’s commitment to achieving SDG 9, which focuses on industry, innovation, and infrastructure. Furthermore, the digital ecosystem contributes to SDG 11, which aims to build sustainable cities and communities.

However, there are several challenges that Cap Verde must address in its digital transformation journey. One significant challenge is digital literacy among its citizens, as people need to acquire more skills to effectively utilise the internet for productivity. To tackle this issue, the government is working on a digital literacy program to increase citizens’ proficiency. Another major challenge is cybersecurity, as the country faced a significant attack on its systems in 2020. Efforts are underway to enhance Cap Verde’s cybersecurity systems and protect against future threats.

In addition to these challenges, change management and organisational shift are proven to be difficult during the course of digital transformation. Resistance from employees and the existence of silos within the government hinder the smooth transition. These challenges must be addressed to ensure a successful digital transformation.

Cap Verde’s young population is a valuable asset that needs to be effectively utilised. The country should explore avenues to leverage the skills and talents of its young workforce to drive economic growth and create decent work opportunities. Recognising this, Cap Verde should focus on developing programs and initiatives that cater to the needs and aspirations of its youth.

Despite the challenges, Cap Verde benefits from its small size when it comes to law enforcement. Due to the country’s limited land area, knowing someone’s location is not difficult, making it easier for law enforcement agencies to operate effectively.

The concept of digital addressing holds potential for countries with larger territories in Africa. Cap Verde’s experience suggests that adopting digital addressing systems could bring benefits to other African nations. However, it is essential to address concerns surrounding data privacy and protection, especially when tracking registered SIM cards. Safeguarding personal information should be a priority when implementing digital addressing systems.

Governance plays a critical role in Cap Verde’s digital transformation journey. The government has included all sectors in its strategy, and new projects undergo careful analysis and validation before implementation. Furthermore, standards are being developed to ensure the responsible and ethical use of technology.

Cap Verde’s digital strategies are being designed with sustainability in mind. They aim to avoid relying on legacy systems and focus on adopting technology that is environmentally sustainable in the long run. This approach aligns with SDG 9, which emphasises the need for industry, innovation, and infrastructure to be sustainable.

It is important for other sectors to recognise the benefits of digital transformation. Cap Verde has incorporated the goals of various sectors into its digital strategy, reinforcing the idea that digital transformation is not limited to specific industries but spans across the entire government.

In conclusion, Cap Verde has made remarkable strides in digitalisation, greatly enhancing service delivery. However, challenges such as digital literacy, cybersecurity, change management, and organisational shift persist. Efforts to better utilise the young population and address law enforcement needs have been observed. The concept of digital addressing holds promise for larger African countries, provided that data privacy and protection concerns are appropriately addressed. Governance plays a crucial role in steering Cap Verde’s digital transformation journey towards sustainability. Recognising the benefits of digital transformation, other sectors should proactively embrace digital initiatives to drive development and meet the goals set by SDG 9.

Rose Mosero Maina

Kenya recognizes the immense potential of digital transformation in driving its economic growth and has implemented a comprehensive strategy to harness this opportunity. As part of its strategy, the country has included Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in its long-term strategic goals from 2012 to 2030. This demonstrates Kenya’s commitment to leveraging digital technologies to support its overall development.

Furthermore, Kenya has made significant efforts to improve its digital infrastructure. The country plans to enhance its national fiber optic backbone by extending it by 100,000 kilometers. This investment in infrastructure will lay the foundation for faster and more reliable internet connectivity, enabling the digital transformation to thrive. Additionally, Kenya already offers over 5,000 digital services online, further establishing its position as a leader in digital innovation.

To ensure that the digital transformation is conducted ethically and lawfully, Kenya has prioritised the establishment of data governance structures. This includes enacting Data Protection laws and creating the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. These measures are essential for safeguarding individuals’ rights and promoting responsible data use, addressing concerns related to privacy and security.

However, despite these efforts, Kenya faces the challenge of addressing the digital divide. Connecting people, promoting digital literacy, and providing relevant devices to underserved communities remain major hurdles. The government and private sector must collaborate to bridge this gap and create equal access to digital opportunities. The private sector, in particular, plays a vital role in advancing digital transformation by offering affordable mobile devices, providing financial inclusion, and creating digital business opportunities.

Kenya has embraced technology and digital transformation, with both the government and private sector actively advocating for digital change. Kenya takes pride in its status as the “Silicon Savannah,” reflecting its commitment to technological innovation and digitalisation. Examples of digital transformation in Kenya include initiatives like digitising land records and digitising identification documents, demonstrating the country’s determination to leverage technology across various sectors.

When it comes to data governance and protection, the perceived resistance may largely stem from a lack of education about the benefits of these measures rather than outright opposition to change. Kenya has already enacted data protection laws and is working to raise awareness through the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, aiming to educate the public about the importance of data protection in fostering trust and ensuring responsible use of data.

In terms of service delivery, Kenya recognises the need for a national addressing strategy. The current addressing system, which relies on landmarks or specific service information, is inefficient. Developing a national addressing system will improve service delivery by enabling better identification of locations and ensuring efficient provision of services.

Digital addressing services, which merge the digital and physical worlds, can greatly enhance governance and service delivery. By using digital addressing services, Kenya can improve efficiency in serving its citizens’ needs and promote better coordination between government agencies.

While there are challenges related to the duplication of projects due to government agencies working in silos, Kenya supports cross-ministerial collaboration to address this issue. By designating specific ministries to guide projects and including the data protection commissioner in data governance issues, the country aims to prevent duplication and promote effective project execution.

In conclusion, Kenya recognises the significant role of digital transformation in driving economic growth. The country’s digital transformation strategy, investment in digital infrastructure, and focus on data governance are key pillars of its approach. Efforts to address the digital divide, leveraging the involvement of the private sector, are essential to ensure equitable access to digital opportunities. Kenya’s embrace of technology and commitment to effective project management indicate its determination to succeed in the digital era.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.

Digital transformation plays a crucial role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union Agenda 2063. Africa’s youth population is projected to reach 70% by 2050, making up 42% of the global youth population. To harness this demographic advantage, it is essential to leverage digital technology. However, Africa faces several challenges on its digital transformation journey.

One of the key challenges is limited internet access. While Africa has made significant progress, with internet access increasing from 6% in 2005 to 40% at the time of the discussion, there remains a substantial divide between urban and rural areas. Additionally, a gender gap persists, with 60% of Africa’s population remaining offline. Bridging these divides and ensuring universal internet access is vital for inclusive growth.

Cybersecurity poses another significant challenge to Africa’s digital transformation. Cybersecurity issues cost the continent 10% of its GDP per year. Developing adequate digital transformation strategies, including capacity building in cybersecurity, is necessary to safeguard against potential threats and ensure a secure digital ecosystem.

Furthermore, change management presents a challenge to digital transformation. Innovation and change can disrupt business processes, and not all organizations are equally open to embracing change. Overcoming resistance to change is vital for successful digital transformation.

In terms of governance, effective digital governance is paramount. It can help improve the effectiveness of government and public administration, bridge the gap between states and citizens’ expectations, and contribute to broader development objectives. Implementing robust digital governance frameworks ensures digital sovereignty and the flourishing of the digital economy.

Prioritizing resource constraints is crucial when implementing digital transformation strategy frameworks. The African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy Framework for 2020-2030 aims to assist countries in prioritizing their needs based on available resources. This approach ensures efficient resource allocation and maximizes the impact of digital transformation initiatives.

Collaboration between ministries and government agencies is essential in achieving effective government strategies. Siloed approaches can lead to duplication of projects and initiatives, hindering progress. By combining expertise and resources across different ministries and sectors, better results can be achieved.

Technology also has the potential to support anti-corruption efforts, increase transparency, and foster greater engagement and accountability. It can be a powerful tool in driving sustainable development and achieving SDG 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

Key enablers for digital transformation include infrastructure, affordability, reliability, and skills. Investment in digital infrastructure, ensuring affordable access to technology, reliable digital services, and developing the necessary skills in both the population and the private sector are crucial for successful digital transformation.

The technopolitical dynamics between global players in North America, Europe, and Asia can provide opportunities for African countries to benefit. Engaging in collaborations and leveraging these dynamics can accelerate digital transformation on the continent.

In conclusion, digital transformation holds great potential for Africa’s development. However, it is essential to address challenges such as limited internet access, cybersecurity threats, resistance to change, and effective governance. By prioritizing resource constraints, promoting collaboration, and investing in necessary enablers, Africa can harness the power of digital technology to achieve the SDGs and the African Union Agenda 2063.

Mactar Seck

Digital transformation has the potential to play a significant role in achieving sustainable development goals in Africa. Over the years, there has been progress in internet access on the continent, with an increase from 6% to 40% since 2005. This signifies improving connectivity in Africa, which is crucial for driving digital transformation. However, despite this progress, there are still several challenges that need to be addressed.

One of the main challenges is the existence of a digital divide. Approximately 60% of the African population remains offline, highlighting the disparity in access to digital technologies. This divide is further intensified by limited internet connectivity in rural areas, where only 23% of people have access to the internet. Additionally, there is an 11% gender gap in internet connectivity, which hinders the full participation of women in the digital transformation process.

To effectively harness the benefits of digital transformation, it is essential to have adequate digital policies that cater to the specific needs of African countries. The policy framework should address the challenges of the digital divide and promote inclusivity in the use of digital technologies. It should also focus on bridging the urban-rural divide in internet connectivity and closing the gender gap.

Another important aspect is data governance, which ensures digital sovereignty and protects citizens. The emergence of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) requires robust data governance frameworks. By having control over their data, African countries can safeguard their citizens’ privacy and create job opportunities in the digital economy.

The African Union’s digital transformation strategy includes various components, such as digital finance, digital skills, innovation, and capacity building. These components are essential for African countries to leverage digital technologies and achieve their sustainable development goals. The strategy also emphasizes the importance of addressing infrastructural gaps and cybersecurity concerns, as these are crucial prerequisites for the success of digital transformation initiatives.

Digital ID and digital trade are also highlighted as crucial aspects to consider in the digital transformation journey. The African Union’s digital transformation strategy recognizes the significance of digital ID and digital trade and seeks to incorporate them into the overall implementation plan.

Furthermore, the analysis highlights instances where digital technology has been used effectively to fight corruption. Examples include the implementation of digital taxation, which has resulted in a 55% increase in government revenue, and the use of a human resource management system to combat the issue of phantom employees drawing salaries.

The Kenya model is cited as a positive example of successful digital transformation in Africa. Kenya has seen notable outcomes from its digital transformation initiatives, including approximately 10% of GDP being attributed to digital transformation, 98% mobile money usage, and 65% internet access in the country. Other African countries can draw inspiration from Kenya’s success and tailor their own strategies accordingly.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA) supports African countries in developing their national digital identities and digital economy. This support is significant in promoting the adoption of digital technologies and achieving sustainable development goals.

Capacity building programs are identified as crucial for enhancing knowledge in areas such as technology, cybersecurity, and fintech. These programs can help address the manpower and resource shortages faced by some African countries in implementing digital strategies. Noteworthy examples include planning to launch a parliamentary capacity building program on the digital economy, technology, cybersecurity, and fintech.

In conclusion, digital transformation has the potential to bring about significant positive change in Africa. However, to fully harness its benefits, it is imperative to bridge the digital divide, implement adequate digital policies, establish robust data governance frameworks, address infrastructural gaps and cybersecurity concerns, and promote digital ID and digital trade. The success of digital transformation initiatives also relies on effective capacity-building programs and drawing inspiration from successful implementations, such as the Kenya model. Ultimately, by embracing digital transformation, African countries can strive towards achieving their sustainable development goals and creating a more digitally inclusive society.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Bye. Bye. Bye. Hello. I think we’re about ready to start. I’m just looking at the online. So good morning. My name is Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen. I’m with the United Nations University’s e-government unit in Portugal. This is, I’ll be the moderator for this session. We have three panelists joining online. The session is organized with Uneke and Mactar Seck is here to represent that, and we’ll do the welcome. And then we’ll start the discussion, including with our three online panelists.

Mactar Seck:
Thank you very much. And good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are. To be part of this important workshop, talking on the focus on digital transformation, I think we all agree that digital transformation can play an important role for achieving this sustainable development goal, as well as aspiration of African Union Agenda 2063. And since the beginning, we are in this IGF forum. Let’s start since 2005. Since 2005, we have African country have made a lot of progress on their digital agenda, because we come to around 6% Internet access, and today, we are at 40% people connected on Internet. But also, we have several challenges, because 60% of our population are offline. It is something we need to think about, to pose us a question, to ask us one question, if our digital policy are adequate to the need of African country. Second, this digital divide also remains a big challenge in the continent, between the urban city and the rural area also, because the rural area is connected around 23%. Also, we have this digital gender gap. 45% of men are connected, compared to 34% women. There is a gap of 11%. And still, we have 500 million people without any legal form of identity. Another one, it is cyber security, which also remains a big challenge. As you know, cyber security cost to last year 10% of our GDP, African GDP. It is a lot compared to other sectors. We need also to begin to find how we can develop adequate digital transformation strategy. We have capacity to leverage this digital technology to mitigate climate change, digital technology to assist the youth and women to be part of this foreign revolution. As you know, we have 70% of our population will be youth by 2050, and it will represent 42% of the world youth. And we need to build their capacity on this foreign revolution. Also, we are facing a lot of challenge also on this emerging technology, like this generative artificial intelligence. We need to focus to think about what kind of regulation we have to put in place to take benefits of all opportunity offered by this emerging technology. Our data governance also need to be reviewed with this development, this advanced technology. In the development of AI also, we need to support African countries to implement this data governance framework to ensure this digital sovereignty happen in the continent. It is a key area where we want to have a discussion today with our several partners. We have a lot of partners around this platform. Some are here in person, others are online. And we have also, we acknowledge the presence of the African parliamentary network in this room, as well as GIZ. We have our partner, the U.S. Embassy, as well as UN University, to be part of this interesting discussion, as well as the authority in Gambia and in Cape Verde. And once again, thank you all to be there, and I wish you a fruitful discussion. Thank you.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Thank you, Mactar. So before we start, I’d like to introduce the panel. I’ll start with our colleagues online. We have Joao Cruz, who is the National Director of State Modernization at the Ministry of Modernization of the State and Public Administration in Cape Verde. He is currently eight hours behind us, so he’s up very early. We are also joined by Rose Mainer. I apologize, Rose, for the mispronunciation, I think. Rose is the Deputy Commissioner at the Office for Data Protection Commission in Kenya. With us today, we also have Anant, who is at the U.S. mission to the African Union at Zimbabwe, and particularly also dealing with privacy and security issues in the digital space. We have Mactar, who is from our colleagues at UNECA.Mactar is the Director for Technology and Innovation at UNECA. And then, last but not least, my colleague, Deputy Director Luis Barbosa at UNU-EGOV As Mactar has already hinted at, we have a number of sort of key questions around the digital transformation strategies in Africa in particular, not only around governance and intergovernance, but also the collaboration and coordination of these digital strategies in the domestic context, both in terms of the immediate, but also medium and long-term strategic focus, and not least how to build these whole-of-government digital ecosystems that we hear so much about in order to allow for both service production and service delivery based on data, identities, signatures, et cetera. So asking the audience, and let’s start with you, Joao, first, what are the sort of three key opportunities that Capaverde is currently focusing on in the digital space? And what are the associated challenges that you are tackling at the moment?

Joao Cruz:
First of all, I don’t know if you hear me.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
We hear you.

Joao Cruz:
Okay, thank you. I would like to thank for the invitation first. As you know, Capaverde is an African country outside the continent, and we have specific particularities, but we still have, I think, the same challenges, and we have some opportunities that maybe are different from other countries. So right now, enhancing the service delivery is one of the things that is a big opportunity for us, because Capaverde, since the early 20s start the digitalization of the government, and we have a lot of the office infrastructures and applications. And right now, we have a big opportunity to take advantage of that. We have a lot of data, we have a lot of application, and we just need right now to cross this information across the government and build some service for the citizen in line, in terms of end-to-end services. We have another big opportunity related to the digital identification. Right now, we have a new digital ID based on a mobile, we call it mobile key, based on digital certificates, and Capaverde have a very good system in terms of the identification. The data that we have in our database for the identification of the people is unique, and it’s a big opportunity for us to build and have the services for the people that we have in our country. As an example, we launched three months ago a service that is the criminal hackers online, so the people right now can ask for their criminal hacker. They just need to have this strong digital ID based on digital certificates. So this is another big opportunity for us, I think. And I would say we have another big opportunity based on a digital ecosystem that we are creating here in Capverde. We are finishing our new digital technological park, where we will have a lot of companies, and the government as well will have all the data in this technological park. It’s a very good project that we implemented. With this, we implement as well the telecommunication through the new cable, LLE, we are working with our local regional countries to another cable called Amilcar Cabral. So we created the foundation, this technological park, to have two new data centers to put with the other one that we already have. So we create all the foundations, I think, to build a strong ecosystem and have startups in this process as well. So I think for us, it’s another big opportunity. And in terms of the challenge, we have the digital literacy is first, I think, for us. As I say, we launched new services with the mobile key, but we still have some problems with the use of these new services and these new features. The people need to have more skills to use these tools and to use the internet for more productivity. Most of the people use internet for social media and things like that. So we are working for a program to increase this digital literacy across all our citizens. We have another, the cybersecurity, you talked about this, the introduction, cybersecurity is another big challenge as well. But we are putting strong efforts on this to implement, for example, our system. But it’s still a big challenge for us. In 2020, we have a major attack for our systems because we have a lot of systems in the government. But we deal with it very, very good, I think. But it’s still a very good challenge for us. And to finish, the change management. Implementing the digital transformation will require us a shift in terms of the organizations and the way the organizations talk here. We have some silos, we still have some silos inside the government. So it’s for us a challenge to enforce this digital transformation because we have some resistance in terms of the employees. We know that some of this resistance is related to the skills as well. And this is why this change management, it’s part of our key things that we have to do that is one of our most challenge, I think, in this digital transformation. I think we are a very young country and this is another opportunity, I think. We have a population that is young, but we are not taking that advantage that I think we could take from this population, this young population. So I think it’s enough for now.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Thank you, Joao. We’ll have a couple of rounds on these topics. So Rose, we heard Joao talk about some of the opportunities like technology as an opportunity, data as an opportunity, both in terms of the transformation of how government operates, how government provides services, the internal production, the data delivery. We also hear about how technology can be used in the private sector. From the data perspective and from your perspective in the data commission and in East Africa, are you seeing similar opportunities being discussed and captured? Are you seeing similar challenges? What’s your perspective on the opportunities and challenges, again, from the data commissioner’s perspective, but also the broader Kenyan public sector and private sector perspective?

Rose Mosero Maina:
Absolutely, and thank you for having me here. It is a privilege to be on this panel. Just starting by saying that Kenya has had an opportunity, I guess, to have a digital transformation strategy or have a recognition of the opportunities that ICTs and digital tools can actually have in the economy. So not only is it in Kenya that a digital transformation strategy was established, I think, by way of a blueprint in 2019, but since I think 2012, Kenya had in its vision for 2030, this strategic goal for the period of 2012 to 2030, we recognized that ICTs are crucial in ensuring that Kenya can leapfrog and become a middle income economy. And so this has been something that has been included in every single strategic plan, as well as national goals for the period until today. In the national strategies today, we have a lot of ambitious but, you know, work that is going on where we look at, you know, a digital superhighway, which is enhancing our national fibre optic backbone by 100,000 kilometres. We have digital literacy programs. We currently have over 5,000 services available online to citizenry. Obviously, the usage of data and data governance structures are critical in ensuring that this is actually being rolled out in a ethical, legal, lawful manner. And so one of the things that actually came about from recognising that digital transformation was important for Kenya is there was the enactment of the Darst Protection laws, as well as the establishment of the Office of Darst Protection Commissioner, which is where I work. Now, one of the things that we have seen, even as we go about harnessing the opportunity, so we’ve talked about digital identities, we’ve spoken about, you know, one-stop shop for digital services, digital literacy, infrastructure challenges, so infrastructure opportunities. So we thought the concept of Technopolis that has a cloud service provision in Kenya and a host of other infrastructure developments as well that are happening. One of the things that we’ve seen the Kenyan government actively take on board is ensuring that the Office of the Darst Protection Commissioner in terms of usable or best use for the data that they’re collecting is actually done or involved in that process. So in digital IDs, in terms of ensuring that not only are the opportunities captured, but also the risks are actively managed. This is something that is at the forefront in that respect. And so, whilst there are a lot of opportunities that have been harnessed through this digital transformation, again, as I’ve said, I think Kenya was, in 2019, one of the first countries to develop a blueprint on the digital economy. And this was a blueprint that was launched in Smart Africa and then, I guess, cascaded or shared with the rest of Africa. And I believe that it enabled the AU digital transformation strategy as well and formed part of the material that actually ensured that that was happening. And so Kenya has recognized the opportunities of digital transformation. One of the challenges that we do find, and this is something that is unique not only to Kenya but Africa at large, is a digital divide. So this comes in many forms and is being tackled in a number of ways, but there are still needs. I guess the collaboration, both the private sector aspect and the public sector aspect, is ensuring not only are we connecting people, not only are they literates, but do they have the relevant devices to actually ensure that they’re using the services effectively, that they are taking on board, that they’re really able to participate in the digital economy. So the transformation doesn’t just happen on a government level for the people that can access, but also for, as has been said, for women, youth, as well as people in underserved areas. And that is something that is being tackled through rollout of more fiber optic, finding opportunities, I guess, as well, to ensure that schools, for example, are connected, that actually govern or affect the communities around them. So it’s not just for a particular school, but people can actually benefit from that. There’s also ensuring that there is rural awareness when it comes to education and finding cheaper alternatives, and I think this is an area where private sector has really come in for people to have mobile devices that are capable of enabling individuals that are in underserved economies to also access the services that are provided online, but also the opportunities in terms of work as well, remote work and things like this, financial inclusion, just generally digital business and opportunities that will affect on a private sector aspect to boost the economy and enable individuals to participate in the digital economy and reap the benefits of digital transformation in Kenya.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Thank you, Rose. Joao mentioned the change management challenge in a number of ways, which you also have alluded to. Is that something that you also observe in the Kenyan context, that yes, we want to innovate, yes, we want to change, but the management of that change can often cause a bit of resistance or a few challenges within organizations, public as well as private? Is that something you see? It’s something we definitely see outside of Africa, in Europe or in Asia or in Latin America, that not all organizations are equally open to the positive change or any disruption to business continuity. This can also be a political concern for service delivery, that innovation and change may cause disruption to business processes in a period of time. Is that something you see, particularly when it comes to the utilization of technology and data?

Rose Mosero Maina:
One of the things that we have noted, again, as I said, or maybe I haven’t touched on it, but Kenya prides itself as being the Silicon Savannah. Technology has been embraced in Kenya in a way that it might not be embraced in other countries. And so even as government and private sector, in fact, private sector and government are the ones who are pushing for this digital change, you will see in digitizing lands records and digitizing IDs. This is actually a push that is coming from government and a lot of private sector had already adopted innovative change. And so this makes a easier transition for digital transformation because there is a push, not just outside government, but by the people to embrace technology in a manner that might not necessarily be seen in other, say, for example, in African countries. However, one of the things that we are seeing, and this is not particularly an issue of resistance, but mostly an issue of newness of policies and newness of legislative frameworks. So, for example, when it comes to data governance, when it comes to data protection, unlike in European countries or Asian countries or just Western countries at large, data protection specifically hasn’t been something that is transformed or has evolved over a period of years. We have in Kenya, for example, a data protection law that came in three years ago that has pushed people to actually look at data governance in a different form, in a different way. So the resistance comes from lack of education or lack of, I guess I want to call it indoctrination of principles of data protection and data governance rather than a resistance to actually change. And so one of the things the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has done is push awareness so that people understand the benefits of data protection, the benefits of data governance, rather than looking at it as another regulatory hurdle that they have to bypass when it comes to usage of information. So this is something that we’re actively working on. To some extent, it is change management, but I think it’s also the sensitization of the benefits comes in as a big contributor in something that is being worked on.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Thank you very much for that, Rose. It actually is a nice bridge to Anand that actually comes from the U.S. Ministry of Justice but is working with the African Union Mission in Addis Ababa on similar topics. How does these two national cases from Cape Verde and Kenya sort of resonate with you when you’re working with the African Union on frameworks with respect to digital transformation or data or cybersecurity? I’m asking about frameworks because a strategy is essentially a framework that is supported by action plan that is then populated by different initiatives and activities. So how does these two national examples resonate with you in the wider AU context and some of the things that you’re doing and also your experience from the U.S. and North America in general?

Anand Ramaswamy:
Thank you. Just a word about our program. I work with my colleague Temeskin Lepiso here. We’re also in Addis Ababa. But we primarily do cybercrime training, and we have chosen to do it on a bilateral level. So I’m aware of what’s going on in Kenya. Cape Verde, as Joao mentioned, was hit with a major attack in 2020. We know that’s the solar winds attack. It greatly affected the United States as well. But we’ve taken the bilateral approach so we can hear the issues from each country, and what we hear is great commonality. If we had gathered, say, people together regionally, we may not get the openness to discuss issues. But what we’ve seen in terms of digital transformation in an overall policy is digital transformation has tremendous potential to advance Africa. I know ECA has its payment system that you’re working on and advancing. But cybercrime, it’s kind of like the brake that’s keeping digital transformation from advancing like it could. And for each country, there is, I think, more victimization than what is reported in any source you might find. It’s vastly underreported. And it’s mainly mobile money schemes, but it’s also every other type of cybercrime that affects other parts of the world. But there are unique challenges within legal frameworks of each country, and that’s part of the overall. So we’re not unique in what we do. We work together in this area. We’ve done programs at ECA. We work with Interpol, GFCE, UNODC, and a number of players to advance all of this. Again, because the digital transformation has such potential for the economic benefit of Africa, that and the free trade within the continent initiative also that we see from AU and ECA. But so long as it’s easy to victimize Africans and African nations, it’s never going to reach that potential. So that’s really our focus, advancing multilateral treaties such as the Budapest Convention. We also formed a cryptocurrency working group. Within Africa, we have 27 members, and most recently met at ECA in November where they discussed their cases and they have further training. Because cryptocurrency saw a greater adoption within Africa than probably most other places, mainly as a hedge against inflation and second, as a hedge against corruption. So we’re happy to work with these people, and we’re going to continue to work with them. We’re going to continue to work with these partners within that framework of digital transformation, but our focus is on the cyber security, cyber crime angle.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
I’m going to ask the Gambian minister to actually join us virtually. No, there’s a technical problem, so we’ll see if we can solve it. But actually, we had the minister for ICT from Gambia to join us virtually, but there’s a technical problem this morning. It is also very early in Gambia. It is the middle of the night. We work a lot with governments globally, including in both North and Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. So how does Joao’s reflections, Anand’s reflections, and also Rose’s reflections resonate with you in a wider African context, considering countries as diverse as Egypt, Uganda, Mozambique, Sao Tomé, and Príncipe that we’ve all been working with to some degree? What are the challenges and what are the opportunities? What are some of the solutions that you see are coming out from different national governments to these challenges?

Luís Soares Barbosa:
Thank you. Thank you very much, Morten. Good morning, good afternoon, everybody. Yes, I think the global challenges are well-known. Beginning at the beginning, the needs for robust, trustworthy digital infrastructure, expanded connectivity, data policy frameworks, as we have been discussing in the previous session, and then all the key enablers for a meaningful digital transition. Digital identity, cybersecurity, interoperability. Okay. All these challenges, I think, are very well-known. What I also think that should be emphasized is that even if challenges seem overwhelming at some point, the experience of some countries, and we have been listening to João and to Rose, the experience of some countries show that, in fact, a lot can be achieved. And this is also our experience at NUEGOV. Actually, Africa has several problems, several weaknesses, but also, obviously, frogging opportunities, less legacy challenge than in other parts of the world, a vibrant youth, and so on and so forth. The point that I would like to emphasize in addressing your question, because it’s also our job at NUEGOV, is the crucial role that digital governance can play in the digital transition processes. And what I think we have been, for example, following very closely the case of Cape Verde, but also others, and I think digital governance actually can play a very interesting role as a kind of a plastic layer enforcing, in practice, an articulation between three different sorts of objectives. First of all, in improving the effectiveness of government and public administration, which is actually crucial as a cornerstone for development. I can mention, for example, things like improving revenue mobilizations or target efficient investments, all these kind of things, so this is absolutely crucial. Another class of objectives relating to bringing the state close to citizens, and for example, our colleagues in Cape Verde have been very, very motivated by this, to their needs, to their expectations, making concrete improvements in concrete lives, and I think this should be stressed. And finally, and this is the case of Cape Verde, this is also the case of Gambia, that I hope the Minister will be able to talk, in articulating digital governance and digital transition in general with broader development objectives, namely to create ecosystems for digital economy to flourish. That is also, I think, the EU vision, and I quote from the strategy, to strengthen the economic sector, enable its diversification and development, and placing African countries as producers and not only as consumers in global economy. So I think these three kinds of objectives and their coordination are really crucial to the success of digital transition seen from the perspective of digital governance.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Thanks, Luís.Mactar, I see you nodding. UNECA has worked also with the African Union on different types of frameworks. One of the more recent ones is the EU Digital Transformation Strategy Framework for 2020-2030. The aim of this is to help countries prioritize their needs. Prioritization is difficult in all governments globally. Resource constraints, human resource constraints, is often a challenge we see in all countries globally. So what are the key components in these frameworks that UNECA have helped develop or they have seen countries apply? in Africa, what are the components that are really beneficial to them, and how has it helped them overcome challenges?

Mactar Seck:
Thank you very much for this question. First on this AU digital transformation strategy, we have several components who can help African countries to use this digital technology to achieve their sustainable development goal. But let’s start when we define, when we implement this digital transformation at the national level. I think we have one challenge, one key challenge, it is at the coordination level at the member state, and now we have noted a lot of progress because in this forum you have the presence of a lot of members of Parliament. It is something we have to highlight, but because government work on silo without involving the Parliament, and at the end of day, the law will be adopted by the Parliamentarian. The involvement of the Parliamentary in the development of the national digital strategy is very important, as well as the private sector. For this national digital transformation has several key pillars. Going to digital finance, digital skills, innovation, development, private sector, capacity building, etc. We have several challenges, and some countries are not at the same level of development of the digital transformation. And this AU digital transformation provides a diagnostic in the gap of digital economy for the country, and define key priority for the country. Some countries, their priority focus more on developing the institutional framework, what kind of institutions they should have at the national level to develop this digital strategy. Because when you look at some countries, they have a ministry in charge of digital economy, and also they have a ministry in charge of ICT. There is a duplication, and science and technology also. And we need to have a coordinated approach at the country level, first to take benefits of this digital transformation. Also, some countries, the issue is they don’t have the manpower or the resources to implement this digital strategy. And we need to focus on building a capacity. As a country, the problem is a gap on infrastructure. Of course, African countries, a lot of African countries have a gap of infrastructure, but some countries the gap is more and more crucial. We need to focus on what kind of policy in this digital transformation we put in place to overcome this deficit, this lack of infrastructure, by revisiting the regulation framework to attract more investment. And we focus more to attract local investment first, before attracting external investment. It is something very important on this digital transformation. Also, for some countries, key success is how to promote innovation. When you have the case of Morocco, of South Africa, of Kenya, the need is to promote innovation, because there is a lot of idea in ground in this country, a lot of development of the ecosystem, and we should adapt this digital transformation strategy in promoting the development of innovation, because we have a lot of things in the ground, and we need to promote this innovation to take more benefits of this digital transformation. And in general, the opportunity is up to the situation of the country, in terms of digital transformation, as well as the market of this country. If the market is big or the market is small, because we can’t compare South Africa and South Sudan in terms of market, and also in terms of capacity building, we need to see which countries are more focused on capacity building to open their system to others. Why is this digital transformation? We can say it is a complete digital transformation, it is a complete framework which can support African countries to achieve their sustainable development from 2020 to 2030. I didn’t forget also the cybersecurity, it’s very important, because if we don’t secure this digital space, all policy we are doing also is not adequate, as well as the issue of digital ID. I think we can come back later on digital ID and digital trade. Thank you.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Thank you, Mactar. As a former civil servant at the Danish Agency of Digitization, which was embedded in the Ministry of Finance at the time, I know all about the financial challenges, and one of the key tools that was applied there was actually these business case return on investments, where the challenge was that a project might be implemented in the strategy and funded, it’s finished on time and on budget, but the benefit of the system only comes when it’s operational, and that happens after the strategy period has closed. So the role was really finding models on how do we ensure that then the systems we have developed, the services we’ve launched actually generates the outcomes, whether or not they’re financial, productivity or usability, user-friendliness actually are achieved, and this is something that we’ve for instance seen that the Botswanas are trying to to work with. On that note, we actually like to open the floor. We’ve been keeping an eye out on the chat online to see if there’s anything, but there’s no questions there at the moment. So any questions, any contributions from the audience around these reflections around the challenges faced and how we can solve these challenges around change management related to the digital transformation, the socio-economic and digital divides we see within society when we are trying to facilitate a more digital-enabled economy and private sector, but also amongst our citizens and residents in navigating these new technical solutions. Any reflections for the audience? Please put up your hand. Yeah, if you can go to the microphone and introduce yourself and your question.

Audience:
Hi, my name is Sam, Honourable Sam George. I’m a member of Parliament from Ghana and the Secretary-General of the African Parliamentary Network on Internet Governance. It’s interesting listening to the conversation so far on the challenges. We see a lot of digital transformation happening on the African continent and African governments, and listening to the challenges of cybercrime, for example, and how that is acting as a stumbling block to full adaptation of digital technologies. One of the challenges we have is with actually prosecution, because you see, if you’re not able to follow the full life cycle of fighting cybercrime by showing punitive action, people feel that the more I get digitally exposed, there’s very little protection for me from the state. Now, one of the key components I realized is missing in the African Union data policy framework that we’re not really focusing on is digital addressing, because in many African countries, there is no proper addressing system, and so even when you are able to identify that a SIM number, we’ve registered all SIM cards again. Most African countries have asked for registration of SIM cards. Now, even when there’s a crime using a SIM card and you report to the police, the police is able to identify using the database of SIM registry who the individual is, but identifying or tracing that individual becomes a critical challenge. Now, because we have two issues, poor addressing system and then high residence mobility on the African continent, so the person lives in this community today, tomorrow he’s moved to the next community. In Europe and the West, when you change residence, for you to even get at times your salary, you need to update a central database where your current addressing system is, so that’s a critical thing we need to look at on the African continent, where we’re able to put a location on every citizen. This is not surveillance, but to be able to know where every individual lives, because it helps you to provide safety nets, it helps you to also do law enforcement, and as we do this, we also need to look at the capacity building of our judges, because the judiciary most times, it’s fantastic that we’ve added a parliamentary track to the IGF, but we need to have possibly a judiciary track as well, because the full life cycle is the executive bringing the legislation to Parliament, Parliament working with civil society to craft the frameworks and the legislation, but then the implementation of that legislation is by way of prosecutors and the judiciary in interpreting the legislation, so if you don’t have that full cycle, that whole of community approach, we’ll take fantastic steps but we’ll just tick check boxes that say that we have the framework, but implementation is really challenged, because for people to uptake this, there must be confidence in it, and so how we build confidence is critical to seeing a spread of this digital technologies and framework. Thank you.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Thank you very much. Rose, Joao, any observations on this challenge about the whole holistic approach to the digital transformation, both in terms of the example given from Ghana about the value of adequate data to both identify where the individual may be located if there’s a crime happening, but also in terms of actually government planning and budgeting. If we don’t know where our population lives, how can we as decision makers actually ensure that we build schools and hospitals in the right places, that the staffing or call centers or physical service centers for those who do not interact online or who are in a unique situation have an alternative service challenge. Any thoughts on that and any solutions that you have explored domestically or that you know of in the African context or outside the African context that would help address such challenges. Rose, then Joao.

Rose Mosero Maina:
We in Kenya also struggle with that. One of the things that we noted when the digital economy blueprint was being developed is a need to have a national addressing strategy and a national addressing act that looks both at the national level and the county level so that we can have a repository of addresses. It sounds like a very simple thing to have for Western countries because this is something that has been ongoing. But for African countries, Kenya in specific, when you’re directing someone to identify where you live, you say around that big tree and then there is a green gate, which at first is impossible to then narrow down where people live. But there is also an issue when it comes to, I guess, enforcement. There’s an issue when it comes to digital trade and e-commerce and things like this, delivery, postal services, for example, emergency services. So it catches or captures not only aspects of, I guess, enforcement, but very much just service delivery as well. And so if there is a need for enhancement in service delivery, there is a need to identify where everyone is. Now, I think African countries have come up with a roundabout way of knowing where people are, but it’s not necessarily efficient that we rely on census, rely on, I guess, usage of service to understand how many people are in a particular area so that service can be rolled out to them. But I do feel that more and more there is a need for formal addressing services physically, but also the use of digital addressing services, which is something that is ongoing in Kenya as well as part of the strategy, so that we’re emerging the digital and physical worlds to actually enable us to better serve the citizens. So that’s something that Kenya is grappling with and some of the solutions that have been put in to tackle that.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
And Joao, any observations, any solutions to these type of challenges that you’ve been exploring in Cape Verde or that you’ve seen, for instance, in the West African context?

Joao Cruz:
Hi. In Cape Verde, we have this addressing problem as well, but we are a very small country. This is one of big difference from the other countries. So for us to know where someone is, is very easy. It’s not that difficult because when you change, you cannot go far from your home. It’s not for us in terms of enforce the law. It’s not a challenge for us. I think for bigger countries in Africa, the digital addressing, I think, would be better to explore. But there’s some challenges on that as well, because the data protection of the people, it could seem like a surveillance in terms of the, for example, you’re tracking the SIM cards that are registered. Here in Cape Verde, you have to register as well your SIM cards. But we could have some problems in terms of the privacy. So I think the countries, they are big in Africa. They could go in this way, but they have to understand this privacy part, how to manage it.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Okay, Joao. Thanks. We have a couple of other people in the audience that would like to ask a question. We also have one online. If the two gentlemen at the mic would just ask their questions quickly, and then I’ll summarize the one online, and then we’ll raise the panel. We’ll do another round of questions later. So go ahead.

Audience:
Thank you. My name is Oliver Bamundu. I’m a member of parliament from Cameroon. I want to ask my question, but start by thanking Dr. Matta for the engagement with APNIC in reinforcing the capacities of members of parliament. But for a very long time, Africa has been noticed for poor democracy, bad governance, and corruption and all that. So I just wanted to share, I just want to have this opinion on it, whether a judicial transformation can be an instrument that will help maybe advancement of a kind of modern democracy in Africa. I don’t know how to put it better. I just want to know whether a judicial transformation can be an instrument that can actually advance democracy in Africa. Thank you very much.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Then the next gentleman, I’ll summarize the questions.

Audience:
Thank you, Bram from Malawi. So for me, I just wanted to find out if the AU has done a survey in terms of, yes, we’re advocating for digital transformation now, but I think we can gain more if we have more members party to the Malawi Convention, which currently is very slowly adopted in member countries. And so what is the impact of member countries not adopting the Malawi Convention? And as we’re also pushing for the transition in the continent, do we see the imbalance? Are we taking stock of this competing interest? And what is the future looking like with this kind of speed? Thank you. Thank you very much. My name is Honourable Alha Jimbo from The Gambia and also the Vice Chair of the African Parliamentary Network on Internet Governance. I’m sure we have some issues with the Minister, but I’m also the Chairperson of the Education Committee and I sit in The Gambia. So I’m really familiar with what’s actually happening in the transformation in The Gambia. Now for us, just to make it very, very short, we have a very clear path and we must thank ECA also for the guidance. Also, the first thing is about the National Broadband Network. We had a project called the ECHO-1, which actually put broadband across the country. Then on top of that, also Parliament, also with the Executive, we work on what we call the National Broadband Network, which actually put fibre across the country. And I think maybe in the next year or so, we may be the most connected fibre on the continent, because it’s a very small country as well. Now, then we came up with a strategy as part of… digital transformation, we call it ICT for master plan, which actually have several components. One of them is about capacity development, STI, science, technology, innovation, and also youth and women, and also the human capital, which is the capacity building we actually are doing, and the e-agriculture, and also the national broadband network strategies that we actually have in plan. Now, right now where we are is about the digital addressing system. We have already started, and we have covered the capital and some of the biggest cities we have in the Gambia right now, where we have digital addressing system that’s in place right now. We are moving towards the digital ID, which is also the consultancy was already done with the help of ECA also as well. That’s exactly where we are as far as the transformation actually is concerned. But one thing I would like to also point out also is that along the way, there are several issues, particularly the addressing system, which actually affects many countries in Africa. So again, technology is such a way that you don’t actually have to start from zero. You can take a leap, and that’s exactly what Gambia is trying to do. We are taking a leap to ensure that we catch up with the rest of the world. Thank you very much.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Thank you. So just to summarize the questions, we had a question around how can technology potentially support anti-corruption drives, increase transparency, help embed engagement, accountability, the democratic angles? And if so, how? We had a question online about the technopolitics between the global players in North America, Europe, in Asia, and how these dynamics may actually enable African countries to benefit, multipolar, if you want. And then there were some of the contributions from Gambia around how the frameworks allows them to leapfrog. But it requires that you have some of the key enablers that Luis was also referring to in place. Yes, we need the infrastructure, but we also need it to be affordable, reliable, and have a population and a private sector that have the skills to use it and the skills in the public sector to actually facilitate and drive that transformation. Is there any specific answers or any observations or contributions to those from the panel here in person and then online?

Anand Ramaswamy:
I’m going to go rather quickly because each one of the questions resonated. Sam’s from Ghana talking. We’ve done a lot of work in Ghana, but identity systems and the Western systems of addresses. This came up in a conversation with the AU when I brought up sex offender registration, which is something done in the United States, but in the context of most African nations would not work. But what we might suggest are technical and legal solutions. Technical, we’re talking to our FBI about what’s called cell site triangulation, locating cell phones based on. That’s correct. And also, circumstantial evidence. If someone committed a fraud, at some point they need to withdraw the money. And almost every bank will have surveillance cameras. This is a technique of identifying an individual apart from having an address, physical address related to the IP. Question from Oliver about anti-corruption. Working with IOKO in Ghana and also in Mauritius, their anti-corruption police in Nigeria, EFCC. I’ll say this. We’ve assisted. Many countries have specific anti-corruption units. We’ve assisted them with technical issues. I won’t say which one, but one of them based on several consultations to help them get into a cell phone that removed their number two person in government. In Ghana, there was someone impersonating a high government official online, and we assisted in getting that removed. So there are, I would say, from cybercrime, some technical solutions. I’ll finish with one other thing. You mentioned the need to train judges. We took 12 African judges, prosecutors, investigators to the US. One of them suggested to us from Ghana that same need, but we see it everywhere. And here’s the issue. We have very talented judges. There are two here, one from Tanzania, Eliana. And they do something unique. They take professors who are skilled in tech and make them judges. For other judges, if they don’t understand it, they’re more likely to keep things out. But judges don’t want to be trained with prosecutors and investigators because it hampers their ability to ask questions. So what Temeskin, my colleague, is we’re developing a bench book and separate training for them. Other organizations are doing it, too, because they need their own training. Thank you.

Mactar Seck:
Thank you. I think Zahira has several relevant questions. First, on the localization, I think we need to identify people before to localize them. And we were 500 million people without any legal form of identity. It’s difficult to identify them. It’s difficult to identify them. Why our approach is to integrate this digital addressing system in the digital ID project. It is something now we are going to do in Gambia to integrate these two systems. And maybe it will be helpful to identify and localize people. It is a big issue, not only in Africa, but in several developing countries. Coming to the also, there is a issue very important we have to take into course. There is an issue of disinformation we don’t have now and hard speech. We don’t have any laws in the continent. Why I call upon you as parliamentary to start to think about on how we can have a framework or guideline on this. Yeah, we are ready to work with you to develop some guideline for the continent. Something very important now, because it is linked to the democracy also. It is something we have as an experience in now several countries in the continent. The third point is how digital technology can contribute to fight corruption. It’s clear. Digital technology can promote transparency and fight corruption. But for that, we need a commitment of the high level. I can give you an example. We receive a request from one member state to support them to increase their tax revenue. And we develop a digital taxation system. When we develop digital taxation system, the government can get around 55% additional revenue on the tax. When we present the project at the custom office and also at the Ministry of Finance, they told they are not agree with this project because they are going to get problems with their staff. And the project, they can’t use the project. It’s not using it. Another country, it is the human resource management system at the government level. We find there are 5,000 people who get salary every month without any presence in the ministry. Project closed. Project closed. Why we need? We can talk about a lot on digital transformation. We have a lot of example in the world where this digital transformation promote a lot of things about transparency, fight corruption, a lot of benefits. But without this commitment, this leadership, and this clear guidance, we can’t go far of that. I call upon you, parliament, to discuss with the government to make sure we can use this digital technology. The solution is there for transparency. Something very important. Data governance also, it is very important. We talk about this cybersecurity. We have a lot of platform around the continent, e-commerce platform, digital ID, digital public infrastructure across the continent. We need to have this digital sovereignty. It’s important. Otherwise, we are not going to take benefits of this digital transformation. Digital sovereignty means that the data should be owned by African country. We need this data to create job opportunity for our new generation. We need this data to protect our citizens. Citizens should trust the government. Without that, this digital transformation will be just something we talk about for years and years. And there is no opportunity and benefits for the continent. Thank you.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Thank you, Mactar. Luis, if you’ll contribute, we have the minister online. So OK. So the Gambian minister for communication, digital economy should be online now. The Honorable Ousman A. Bah, I hope you can hear us. We’ve been discussing the national experiences and approaches to enabling the digital transformation. A member of your parliament is actually with us here in person and gave us some highlights as well. But what are the key tools that you’re using in the ministry to sort of drive this whole of government, whole of society, digital transformation in Gambia? We heard about the importance of the infrastructure and the skills already. But are there any tricks up your sleeve that you have found to work better than others? And if so, what are they?

Lamin Camara:
Thank you to all the audience down in Japan. I’m stepping in for the Honorable Minister Ousman A. Bah. I am Lamin Kamara, the parliament secretary of the ministry. And I want to thank Honorable Bo for that intervention. I think he’s quite afraid with what is happening in the ICT landscape in the country and has been the chairman of the educational ICT subcommittee of the National Assembly. So we work very closely with him. So I’m not surprised that he can make that intervention while we were waiting to get the opportunity to come in. Yes, well, the ministry we have, the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, is just a year old. And when the minister was appointed, he came with his five-point agenda. And I think we’ve already discussed some of those, which includes addressing connectivity. That is one. And how to ensure our people are connected, inclusive connectivity, and also regional connectivity has been key. We’re working with the likes of Cape Verde and other ECOWAS countries on the America Cabral cable to provide a second submarine cable for the Gambia to create more capacity and also redundancy for the existing submarine cable we have in place. We have also worked on a digital master plan. And after following a digital assessment, we did develop a master plan and also a strategy on digital ID with the support of UNECA. So I want to thank Mactar Seck, who has been very instrumental in that. And digital ID is very important for us to achieve and tremendous efforts in play to ensure we have a quick implementation of a digital ID in the Gambia. Although we know we have challenges of coordination and cooperation, because digital ID entails putting together a lot of data needs that feed into the digital ID of an individual. And some of these things are resident in different ministries or entities that we need to work together with and see how we integrate that. And I think Mactar has given an example how we want to utilize our existing digital addressing system to be part of that digital ID, how the SIM registration platform we have, how we integrate that into the digital ID, the bath registrations, the passport ID, and our bank accounts. So all these need coordination and collaboration. And we’re really working to ensure that it’s done. After that, we’re also talking about fintechs and financial inclusion. And the issue of establishing a national switch is really paramount to be able to promote the creation of payment gateways and the use of those gateways to facilitate financial inclusion, digital financial inclusion in the country. But beyond that, to see how we also facilitate cross-border payments within the African countries, especially under the initiative of the free trade area, these payment gateways would be very useful and cross-border payment. So now with the challenges we have in the area of cybersecurity issues, and what we are doing is that we need to ensure when we put these things in place, the trust and confidence of the people does not wane. And to do that, we are working on a cybercrime bill, which is already on its way to the National Assembly. So I’m sure Honorable Bo will be expecting that bill. We will need his support in ensuring that we get that bill enacted in the quickest possible time. And we also established cybercrime or cybersecurity emergency response teams to be able to respond to some of the threats we may be faced with in the country. Now, when you come to about inclusion, the issue of not only the digital divide where the infrastructure reaches our people, and as already indicated by Honorable Bo, we have the broadband networks that is all around the country. But the last mile is still a challenge. And we are working on strategies to see how we overcome that using different technologies, mixed technologies that would help us achieve that. And even apart from the last mile, the devices, affordability of the devices is a challenge. We’ve identified. And we’re seeing how we work together with providers of devices to see how we can have affordable devices or even to have devices that could be programmed in a way that could be used by our disadvantaged people. So you mentioned about change strategy. I think it’s very important in digital transformation because if we want inclusiveness, we need to make sure everybody participates in this. And to do so, we need to find a way of encouraging and making sure everybody participates. And the digital transformation agenda of the AU by 2030 is met through the full participation of each and every African and every person in the world by extension. So we are also working on e-applications and services. And I think here our consideration at the Ministry is to ensure that we develop applications that suit our needs, applications that suit our needs, that can address our problems, our local problems. We’re working together also to see how we collaborate with other bilateral partners, like technologies that are working in some of our partner countries. We see how we adopt them rather than reinventing the wheel. And in doing so, our minister has signed MOUs with Rwanda, with Mauritius, with Nigeria, and we’re working on adopting the Mag-Off platform of Bangladesh so that we have a quick way of adopting. So, I think it’s very important for us to make sure that we have the right infrastructure and the right technologies, applications and platforms to attain our digital transformation agenda. Thank you.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
≫ Thank you, Lamin, very much. You touched on a couple of topics that have popped up repeatedly. Not only governance, as in who does what, when, who finances what, but also softer elements like coordination and coordination with the private sector. So, we have a lot of work to do with the local, regional, national authorities, but also with the private sector, like the financial sector, for both for data exchange and for facilitating payment systems, regulatory framework standards, and compliance, we know, is traditionally a challenge. We are very good in the public sector, and I talk as a civil servant at writing ambitious, ambitious projects, but also, I think, in the public sector, we need to make sure that all of the camels line up and all of the ducks are lined up in a row. So, with ten minutes left, I would like to throw the question to the panel, and maybe start with Luis, and then go to Joao and Rose, and then back to the panel here. What are the governance and collaboration mechanisms that need to be in place to ensure this holistic whole-of-government strategy that we are talking about, and how do we make sure that this is a public-sector transformation in our countries? Is it enough that it’s just one ministry that does this, or is there tricks up the sleeve in terms of the mandates, the collaboration mechanisms, and the link to these governance and strategy frameworks that you’ve seen work well from your different perspectives?

Luís Soares Barbosa:
Thank you. I would like to start with this other question on democracy that you put, because, of course, the potential of digital technology is enormous, but there are no free lunches, and that’s the point that Morten was trying to make. We know, for example, in terms of digital governance mechanisms, of course, if you go digital, you will enforce a number of formalisation measures, but there are no free lunches, and that’s the point that you put. On the other hand, to make this effective, we need these instances of cooperation. João talked in his first intervention, he mentioned the need for management capabilities of the whole system and articulation of different ministries and different agencies. I also had the relevance of the political will behind this transformation, which is crucial to the development of a more democratic system, and that’s the point that you put, because, of course, the potential of digital technology is enormous, but there are no free lunches, and that’s the point that you put, because, of course, the political will behind this transformation, which is crucial to the development of a more democratic system, and that’s the point that you put, because, of course, the potential of democratic systems. And also other elements, for example, the construction of collective trust, and this is something that if, actually, citizens see their lives being changed by this sort of technologies, the trust in the institutions will, actually, increase in this place, until it’s more certain that our owned citizens are also dealing with accountable issues. A second comment, if I may, I have two very brief comments. One was just to go back to the point of literacy that was also mentioned as kind of a keyneveled in all this. I would like just to stress something that actually worries me when dealing with most African governments, and that is that they are not able to attract and to maintain very specialised, very technical skills that exist in Africa, and that are very easily gone to the private sector, or even aboard. So this is something, it’s a very good resource, a natural resource. And the last comment is about identity, digital identity. That is absolutely crucial as well. And I think it’s a very important issue, and I think it’s something that has more to do with Weneke in the Gambia last month. There was a presentation of something that was called by then the non-authoritative identity, digital identity. That was a project, a pilot project in some African countries to resort to local communities to help in building a digital identity. And I think that’s something that, if you are interested, we may discuss further.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
≫ Rose, on governance, collaboration, any thoughts, any things that you’ve seen work particularly well, or sort of things based on bad examples that you would do differently from your perspective?

Rose Mosero Maina:
≫ I’ll give you things that I think have worked well, and I’ll give you the kind of perspective. So, I think the first thing that I would say is that there is a lot of siloed approach to government agencies, which means that there is duplication of certain projects, duplication of initiatives. How this has been addressed in Kenya is obviously there is a first strategic goal that looks at what everyone must achieve, and in this, there is pillars. Which is digital transformation, there is obviously a need for digital transformation, but also there is a need for digital transformation. And in addition to this, there is a ministry that is given effective control over how to manage that mandate. So, for example, if there is a universal help project that looks at digital transformation, then the ministry of information, communication, and digital economy will then have a say in how that happens, meaning that there is no duplication, there is one area where there is a need for digital transformation. So, there is a lot of work that is being done to make sure that the funds are being allocated to that particular project, there is expertise that has been rolled off from a ministerial level, and also trickles down to, say, for example, if there is a data governance issue, then the office of data protection commissioner will be involved, and so that close collaboration between ministries, knowing firstly what they are doing, and then to carry a project by themselves and they might not necessarily have this expertise is something that I have seen that is actually really beneficial in ensuring that we are moving forward with some of these strategies without unnecessary duplication.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Thank you, Rose. It is actually this matrix of different responsibilities. The ministry of education knows education. The ministry of technology knows technology, and when the two combine, they need to collaborate. So, this is something that we have seen in many countries, both in Africa and elsewhere, in the UNU system, so very happy to hear that this is also something that we see in a place like Kenya. Joao, any thoughts on, again, this sort of division of responsibility? How do you get your ducks in a row? How do you hurt the cats, so to speak? Government is a multi-headed beast sometimes with many different actors, different levels of autonomy, different interests. So, from your perspective in Cap Verde, with your experience, what gets the ducks in a line in your context, and what do you see working when it comes to this?

Joao Cruz:
First of all, the governance, it plays a critical role in all of this. But you have to put these governments in a situation where they are not able to do it. You have to put these governments in such a way that the people see the benefits. So, what we do here in Cap Verde? We create our strategy for digital governance with the UNU-EGOF, with Luís as well. And what we do, we take all the goals that all the sectors have, and we bring it to the strategy. So, what we do, we take all the goals that all the sectors have, and we bring it to the strategy. And right now, they are included in the strategy that we put in place. With this, we provide some regulations as well. So, right now, if you want to have a new project, first, it must send to our cabinet to analyse and validate the integrations, if there are no duplications, and validate the outcome as well. Before the implementation. So, I think we work in two different levels. We work in the level that we bring all the sectors to this digital transformation, but we made some regulations as well in terms of what they can do, how they can do. And we are working as well in terms of the standards of the use of the technology. This is completely regulated, but we work on that as well. And right now, we have some guidance to ensure that what we do today will be sustainable in the future. Someone mentioned the legacy systems in Europe and things like that. We don’t want to have a lot of legacy systems. We have our interoperability framework, but it’s easy if you can integrate it without a lot of different things. So, we try to manage all these things with the regulation and with the proximity to all the sectors.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Thanks, Joao. Any final thoughts? Anything that our audience could contact, for instance, UNECA on if they have questions around frameworks and tools that UNECA provides to help support the national transformation?

Mactar Seck:
Just before I want to highlight the Kenya model, I think I like very well this. It is something we can look at as an example for other African countries, as well as the example of Rwanda. And we have seen the result in Kenya. I think, if I don’t have a mistake, I think the result of Kenya is around 10% of the GDP. It is a good result coming from this coordination mechanism. And also, mobile money, I think we have today 98% of Kenya using mobile money. And 65% have access to Internet. It is some result we can look at. And also, I would like to highlight, at the policy level, capacity building, as well as to raise the voice of Africa. At the policy level, we support African countries to develop their national digital identity. We support African countries to develop their national digital identity. We support African countries in policy related to climate change, also to education, health. As well as we support some African countries to develop their digital identity. And also, in agriculture, we have a big project in Botswana, and we can support African countries to see how we can use digital technology to improve the animal sector, also the agriculture sector. We also focus on capacity building. And also, we are going to launch a program early next year for the parliamentary to build their capacity on digital economy, digital technology, cyber security, as well as fintech. We have another program for the private sector with Alibaba. I’m going to stop there. I’m going to stop there. We have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of work to do. We are doing a lot of activities under the digital ID, digital trade, digital economy. Anything related to the three key sectors, ECA is ready to support you.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
My clock is a little bit advanced.

Luís Soares Barbosa:
We have been investing in Africa in terms of helping countries to design national and sectorial strategies, for example, the justice sector strategy was developed with us. I would like to stress the relevance of these strategies, not just as documents, but as processes that engage people, not just as data, but as processes that engage people. Again, in our website, you can find other information. Thank you very much.

Morten Meyhoff-Nielsen.:
Thank you, Luis. On behalf of UNECA, thank you very much to the audience. Thank you, Lamine, for your patience, and thank you to the audience for your participation. If you have any questions that you may have to us here physically, please catch us after this session. Please don’t hesitate to contact UNECA or UNUIGAV separately. Thank you once again. Enjoy the rest of the day. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.