Victoria Falls (New Ziana)-Parliaments in the region should embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technology in order to improve efficiency of the legislature, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.
President Mnangagwa, who is the Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairman, said this while officially opening the 57th session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) taking place in the resort city of Victoria Falls, adding the benefits of using the latest technologies were multi-pronged.
“Additionally, technology can bridge the gap between Parliamentarians and citizens in our geographically dispersed constituencies. This will enable more direct and frequent interaction, thereby improving representation, accountability and involvement of grassroots communities in parliamentary processes.
“I therefore urge Parliaments to embrace artificial intelligence and other technologies to revolutionize legislative processes for more evidence- based and people centered policies,” he said.
This year the event is running under the theme: “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for effective and efficient Parliamentary Processes in the SADC region: experiences, challenges and opportunities.”
President Mnangagwa also urged SADC Parliaments to consider sharing technologies in order to strengthen interconnectivity and lower tariffs for the benefit of the people.
“For SADC Parliaments, the potential benefits of Artificial Intelligence and innovative technologies are multi-pronged. These offer solutions for resource optimization, which will in turn enable our Parliaments to achieve greater results,” he said.
“Our policies, with regards to ICT enablers and new technology uptake, should leave no one and no place behind.”
On its part, Zimbabwe is scaling up the integration of digital solutions into the governance framework, said President Mnangagwa.
“At a national scale, the adoption of Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies must enhance rather than compromise the integrity and independence of our democratic institutions. To this end, measures must be put in place to deal with issues of cyber security, data protecting, digital sovereignty and the potential for technological dependence, among others,” he said.
Zimbabwe has since enacted the Cyber and Data Protection Act, to regulate data security.
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