Public Agenda (Accra)
Mohammed Shardow
31 January 2005
Accra — The United Nation Scientific and Cultural Organization, (UNESCO), Communication and Information Advisor for West Africa, Hezekiel Dlamini has called on African governments to see access to information as a human right.
He has therefore urged African leaders to ensure development and sustenance of independent and pluralistic media at the grassroots.
Dlamini made the call in an interview with Public Agenda in Accra during the just ended Africa Regional Preparatory meeting for the 2005 World Summit on Information Society (WSIS).
The forum was aimed at capacity building of the civil society, a key partner in Africa socio-economic growth to prepare them adequately for the Summit on Wednesday.
There were speeches from the Ghana Civil Society members including Kwame Ahiabenu at the WSIS, Accra Planning committee, Leopold Armah, African Youth Initiative, Ghana, Henrich Boell Stifung, Kwaku Ofusu Adarkwa, Chief Director Ministry of Communication, Aida Opoku - Mensah, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
Earlier during the opening ceremony, Dlamini pledged UNESCO's continuous support to Africa until the objectives and goals are realised.
The Resident Representative of United Nations development Programme (UNDP), Albert Salia Fawundu noted that large contribution to the African economies is from the large army of unknown people who constitute the informal sector.
Fawundu decried the slow rate at which the formal sector still relies on the traditional postal mails and was optimistic that the delegates will suggest solutions to address that.
" There is a major vacuum, a gap that needed to be filled", he stressed.
He further said that the situation was a great loss for the economy and should be a serious concern for civil society, reminding the participants that government alone could not shoulder such responsibility.
Under the framework of the New Partnership for Africa's development (NEPAD) the African Regional Preparatory Conference will contribute to an action plan for Africa. The preparatory conference will also make concrete proposals for facilitating investments in ICT. The outputs will be used to prepare Africa's negotiating position at the second phase of the WSIS will which will open on Wednesday.
The Accra outputs constitute Africa's contribution to the WSIS meetings to be held in Geneva next month.
In a message, President John Agyekum Kufuor was delighted that, Accra has become a historic stopover in an African journey towards information society that began in Bamako Mali in 2002.
" We as a nation are indeed proud to be part of such a prestigious process whose tangible rewards permeate the cross section of society", he added.
President Kufuor stressed on the fact that Ghana has an existing ICT policy, which supports socio economic development, and it includes health, education, good governance, and commence.
The president expressed hope that the outcome of the conference would not only be a common position and a regional statement on major ICT issues relevant to the continent, but the creation of a strategic and interdependent digital partnership to promote economic growth and human development in the continent.
The Executive Secretary of ECA, Dr K.Y. Amoako also in a message said the information society is about paving the way to get more children into schools, fight HIV pandemic and also promote trade.
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