ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- African legislators have been urged to craft necessary laws and regulations to help realize the continent's digital development aspirations.
This came during the opening session of the 13th edition of the Africa Internet Governance Forum held from Wednesday to Friday in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, under the theme "Building Our Multi-Stakeholder Digital Future for Africa."
Mactar Seck, chief of the technology and innovation section at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), said the continent needs to harness the power of digital technologies to achieve the global Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union (AU)'s Agenda 2063.
According to Seck, the pressing challenges for Africa's digital development include limited connectivity, the digital divide between segments of Africa's population, and cybersecurity-related threats.
"We have now 37 percent of people connected. This means 63 percent of our population is offline. We have a digital divide not only between men and women, but also between our people living in the urban and rural areas, and among African countries," he said.
Noting that the cost of information and communications technology services is "very expensive" in Africa compared to the rest of the world, he also raised the issue of affordability as another challenge.
With almost 500 million Africans living without any form of digital identity, he called on African parliamentarians to coordinate national and continental efforts in crafting inclusive digital development legislation for emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and nanotechnology.
Adil Sulieman, senior policy officer at the AU's infrastructure and energy department, said African parliamentarians are instrumental in advancing Africa's digital information transformation journey.
With the African continent striving to achieve greater integration with the establishment of the world's largest free trade zone, Sulieman said the aspiration requires greater internet connectivity, free flow of information, electronic payment, and cross-border transactions.
"African parliamentarians would have to recommend new rules that would generate trust, protect and secure data across the entire value chain, particularly for the vulnerable and marginalized groups, including children, women, the elderly, and the physically and mentally challenged people," he said.
Negeri Lencho, chairperson of the human resources and technology affairs standing committee at the House of Peoples' Representatives, the lower house of Ethiopia's parliament, said parliamentarians play a significant role in setting legal and regulatory frameworks, directives, proclamations, and policies. These instruments are crucial to fostering the practical implementation of programs and projects that can directly benefit the community.
Lencho further highlighted device affordability as one of the major challenges affecting Africa's inclusive digital development efforts. "Without smart devices, access to data is going to be very limited. This makes data accessibility a function of an unaffordable device."
Jointly hosted by the UNECA in collaboration with the Ethiopian Ministry of Innovation and Technology, this year's forum brought together African parliamentarians, experts, and policymakers to identify key challenges, emerging trends, and opportunities for Africa's digital future.
Issues such as cybersecurity and cybercrime, data governance, digital rights and human rights, sustainability and universal access to connectivity, and emerging technologies were among key areas of discussion at the forum. ■