Since April 2013, constituents from Nata/Gweta, Boteti North, Maun West and South East South have been using the Botswana Speaks platform (U-Speak) to share issues, opinions or to request information from their Members of Parliament.
Botswana Speaks gave a chance to Members of Parliament from those four constituencies to receive input and to reply directly to them via the online platform or via SMS! At the end of the pilot (March 2014) there were 830 cases on U-Speak!
Success factors:
The pilot phase of the project was initiated as scheduled in April 2013. Since then some interesting outcomes have emerged from the pilot phase in line with the overall objectives of the project:
• Citizens have shared their views with their MPs;
• Parliament has made bills and motions available to the public early in the decision-making process (April 2013);
• Some MPs responded to their constituents’ via the platform;
• Constituency meetings took place regularly to present the project;
• Capacity building enhanced throughout the pilot phase;
• Initiative was very well received at international events.
An analytical paper on the Botswana Speaks project titled “Inclusive Innovation in Governance: Critical reflections from Botswana” by Somya Joshi, Kheira Belkacem, Vasilis Koulolias and Vasso Zalavra was accepted for the 19th UKAIS Conference on Information Systems in Oxford, UK. It will be presented by Somya Joshi on 9 April.
This paper will be reworked in line with peer-reviewed comments and additional end user data that has come in during March 2014, to be submitted to a top journal in the field of ICT4D.
A ready to use toolkit was created following the validation of the platform. It includes:
· A version of the latest software used, ready for installation.
· General documentation for the software.
· Training modules on Initiative Planning / Initiative Implementation.
· Training material on Marketing, and relevant promotional material in editable versions. 
Image courtesy of Keerati / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
This tool kit aims at interested local, regional, national African institutions that plan to initiate, implement or finance initiatives to foster participative models towards decision-making who can use it to evaluate, plan and manage those initiatives.
The link to the toolkit will be available soon.
Hon. Odirile Motlhale, Chairman for the Committee on Communications, Works, Transport and Technology, and Member of Parliament (MP) involved in the Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative, has announced during a Committee meeting on 5 February 2014 that the Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative will be rolled-out to all constituencies. Since April 2013, constituents from Nata/Gweta, Boteti North, Maun West and South East South have been using the Botswana Speaks platform to share issues, opinions or to request information from their Members of Parliament. Project partners from eGovlab (University of Stockholm) and Gov2u met with the partners of the Parliament of Botswana in Gaborone to evaluate the initial results of the pilot phase and decided that the pilot would be extended until the end of March 2014 in order to allow more participation and encourage more young people to be involved.
Although the pilot phase of the initiative was originally scheduled until 10th December 2013, it has been extended until the end of February 2014. Moreover, a final workshop will be organised with eGovlab, Honourable Member of Parliament and the Team in the Parliament in Gaborone in February 2014 to gather impressions and feedback from the pilot phase, and to discuss the sustainability of the project after the pilot.
Constituents from Nata/Gweta, Boteti North, Maun West and South East South, can use U-Speak to share an issue, an opinion or request information to their Member of Parliament (MP)!
Login now and submit an issue to your MP via the online platform or via SMS and let your MP know your concerns!
If you are a citizen of another constituency, you can give your opinion on issues that concern you and legislation that is currently discussed in the Parliament.
Sign in on the Speak4yourself platform and send your input to the MPs who participate in these debates!
Caption: Kgosi Moilwa addressing his kgotla in Mogobane. Mrs Elizabeth Monare, Constiuency Officer for South East South (on the left)
Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative team organizes a kgotla meeting in Otse tomorrow morning at 9:00 (South East South). You are welcome to join!
Come and share your views and opinions!
Welcome to the fourth issue of the Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative newsletter! These past months have been very productive for the Botswana Speaks project, as well as rewarding.
The Parliament of Botswana was represented at Tshane in Kgalagadi District last month (30-31 August) for the official launch of the “Vision 2016 awareness month”. This event was an opportunity to showcase a wide range of services that Government Departments and private companies render to the community in a mission to align them and demonstrate adherence to the seven pillars of Vision 2016. Therefore, the Parliament’s stall was showcasing the Botswana Speaks, as this initiative deeply contributes in achieving the Vision pillar 5 “An Open, Democratic and Accountable Nation”.
The Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative Team at the Parliament of Botswana kicked off a road trip last week to the four piloting constituencies of the project (Nata/Gweta, Boteti North, Maun West, South East South) in order to present the online platform. Throughout August the citizens of various villages will get the chance to a firsthand experience while they will be informed on how to use it by members of the team along with the assistance of Parliament IT staff.
The Parliament team is going to Boteti North this week.
Here are the venues:
- Tuesday 6 August: Rakops – Engliton Investments Complex
- Wednesday 7 August: Moreomaoto – Public Library
- Thursday 8 August: Mopipi – Marobathutlwa Community Hall
All meetings start at 09:00.
Botswana Speaks online platform goes for a “test drive” with piloting constituencies’ citizens @ Nata/Gweta, Boteti North, Maun West, South East South behind the wheel!
The Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative Team at the Parliament of Botswana kicked off a road trip earlier this week to the four piloting constituencies of the project in order to present the online platform. Throughout August the citizens of various villages will get the chance to a firsthand experience while they will be informed on how to use it by members of the team along with the assistance of Parliament IT staff.
Laptops equipped with internet modems will be provided by Parliament for public use during the Botswana Speaks tour. Following a brief presentation of the platform and with the assistance of the Parliament team, citizens will be able to use the platform and send messages to their elected representative.
Read the press releases (English and translated version):
The Botswana Speaks Team at the Parliament of Botswana is going for a trip in the four piloting constituencies of the project. Two members of the team will be going to the various constituencies (different members for each trip), together with an IT Officer who will be going to all of them.
Timeline
The team will spend 5 working days in each of the four piloting constituencies as follows:
• Nata/Gweta: from Monday 29 July to Friday 2 August
• Boteti North: from Monday 5 August to Friday 9 August
• Maun West: from Monday 12 August to Friday 16 August
• South East South: from Monday 19 August to Friday 23 August
The Parliament will bring laptops with internet modems for the public to use during the meetings. After a quick presentation of the platform, most of the time will be spent on citizens using the platform and sending their questions / concerns to their elective representative with the assistance of the team.
The agenda of the meetings that will be organised this week at Nata/Gweta is as follows:
• Tuesday 30 July : Nata, Nata Senior School, starting at 09:00
• Wednesday 31 July: Gweta, Kutlwano Junior Secondary School, starting at 09:00
• Thursday 1 August: Sowa Town, Joiba Complex, starting at 09:00
The Parliament has a stall to showcase Botswana Speaks at the Botswana Consumer Fair.
The Botswana Consumer Fair runs from the 22nd to the 28th of July. It takes place at Fairground Holdings, Gaborone.
These are the ongoing polls on Speak4Yourself! Sign in, select your constituency on the map and share your opinion!
Check out more polls ...and stay tuned!
The Public Service Day is a two-day annual event. On the 13th of June, activities including ministries stalls exhibitions were held at Fairgrounds Holdings, Gaborone. As the theme for this year is “E-GOVERNMENT; KEY TO EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY”, the Parliament of Botswana decided to showcase the Botswana Speaks platform on its stall.
During the whole day, the stall received a large number of visitors willing to discover the platform, including Hon. Mokgwetsi Masisi, Minister of State President. Indeed, Botswana Speaks is very much anchored in the National E-Government Strategy which is a priority for the Government of Botswana, as emphasized by the Minister in his keynote address:
"The potential of e-Government, however, goes much further, for it also enables Government to connect citizens, and perhaps of even greater significance its citizens to connect with their Government, for 24/7 interface and service delivery. In the process it offers greater efficiency and cost savings for Government and citizens alike. But for e-Government to deliver on its potential there is an urgent need for a radical transformation of how Government works and ultimately how society relates to Government. This will require the application of new ways of thinking as well as new information and communication technologies".
Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative is working to enable citizens, traditional leaders, and local kgotla assemblies to share their views and policy concerns with their elected representatives through the use of information and communication technologies
Kheira Belkacem and Vasilis Koulolias presented Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative at CeDEM, Krems, 22 May, Track: E‐Democracy and E‐Politics, Main Hall, Chair: Reinhard Riedl.
Click here to view presentation on Slideshare
Click here to view our new factsheet including latest information on the project:
