News & Events

Our blog is where you'll find all our project updates,highlights and achievements, as well as other news and events related to Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative.

Botswana Speaks paper will be presented at the Joint Conference of IFIP EGOV 2013 & IFIP ePart 2013, 15-19 September 2013, Koblenz, Germany

"Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative: Paving the Way Towards Better Constituency Services in Botswana" paper will be presented on September 19th, 2013 from 14 to 15.30 during the Joint Conference of IFIP EGOV 2013 & IFIP ePart 2013.

More details will follow in the next days!

Programme of the conference

Website of the conference

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Botswana Speaks PRESS RELEASE posted on ePractice!

The press release of Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative which was published yesterday appears on ePractice blog!

Check it out here!

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PRESS RELEASE: SIDA Programme Manager meets with the Botswana Speaks Parliament team

Brussels, 05/09/13 – On Tuesday 27 August 2013, SIDA Programme Manager visited the Parliament of Botswana in order to follow up on the implementation and progress of the Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative so far.

The SIDA representative started her visit by meeting with the Clerk of the National Assembly, Ms Barbara Dithapo. She was informed on the achievements and the remaining challenges of the project. Ms Barbara Dithapo highlighted the Parliament’s commitment to this project, saying that “In Botswana, the majority of citizens don’t vote during General Elections. Botswana Speaks will assist in getting them involved and enhancing our democratic process”, thus emphasizing that the project’s success is of utmost importance for Botswana.

The four Members of Parliament involved in the pilot phase of the Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative, Hon. Rayner Makosha (Nata/Gweta), Hon. Odirile Motlhale (South East South), Hon. Tawana Moremi (Maun West) and Hon. Slumber Tsogwane (Boteti North) also met with the SIDA Programme Manager during the same day. They expressed their satisfaction and gratitude towards the funding opportunity provided by the Swedish Agency.

The full version of the press release is available in English and translated versions!

Botswana_Speaks_Press_Release_05.09.2013_final_ENG.pdf

Botswana_Speaks_Press_Release_05-09-2013_final_TRANS.pdf

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The Botswana Speaks Team is heading to Maun!

The Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative Team is going to visit all the wards of Maun West constituency this week! All are welcome to attend the following meetings to try out the Botswana Speaks online platform:

 

  • Botshabelo and Boyei: Tuesday 13 August, Sekgoma Primary School, 09:00
  • Kgosing and Kubung: Wednesday 14 August, Mabudutsa Kgotla, 09:00
  • Thitoyamokole: Thursday 15 August, Hall Bombadi, 09:00
  • Komana: Friday 16 August, Komana Primary School, 09:00

 

Come and share your views and opinions with your Member of Parliament!

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Botswana Speaks online platform goes for a “test drive” with piloting constituencies’ citizens @ Boteti North

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.

 

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Botswana Speaks online platform goes for a “test drive”

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):

BS_Press_Release_English.doc

BS_Press_Release_TRANS.doc

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Trips in the piloting constituencies: Citizens get to use the platform

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

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Botswana Speaks is present at the Botswana Consumer Fair

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.

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More than 10 ongoing polls on Speaks4Yourself platform! Sign in and give your opinion!

There are more than 10 ongoing polls on Speaks4Yourself platform!
Such as:

- Live broadcasting of Parliament debates

- One-Stop Border Posts Bill

- Establishement of a Statutory Body to ...

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Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative presented at IST-Africa 2013 Conference, 29th - 31st May 2013, Nairobi, Kenya

Louis Papaemmanuel, eGovlab, presented the Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative at IST-Africa 2013 Conference during on 29th May 2013, during a session on eGovernment. More

IST-Africa 2013 Agenda

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Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative proudly presents its 3rd Newsletter Issue!

The Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative is now running its pilot phase and all Batswana are invited to sign up, to view ongoing polls, to discuss and debate issues that concern them!

These past months have been very fruitful for the project. Among other activities undertaken, the initiative was successfully presented in various international conferences in Africa, United States and Europe and a lot of interest and visibility was raised. Concurrently, meetings with local authorities in the four pilot constituencies were on focus during this period as a way to raise awareness about the launch of the pilot phase. Media outlets in Botswana like Mmegi and Daily News covered the launch of the pilot phase and qualified Botswana Speaks as an interactive platform that leads to better constituency services.

Enjoy our newsletter issue and get updated on the project’s news, upcoming events and other relevant news! Stay always abreast of the project’s news by following us on social media!

The latest issue is available here

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Ongoing polls on Speaks4Yourself! Give your opinion!

These are the ongoing polls on Speak4Yourself! Sign in, select your constituency on the map and share your opinion! 

  • Botswana Land Policy
  • Botswana National Policy on HIV and AIDS
  • Banking (Amendment) Bill
  • One-Stop Border Posts Bill
  • Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill

Check out more polls ...and stay tuned!

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Public Service Day, 13-14 June 2013, Gaborone

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".

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Blog about Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative

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

Read more on the Democracy and Governance Network

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Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative: A socio-­political approach to eDemocracy initiatives in developing countries

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

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PRESS RELEASE:Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative launched its pilot phase!

Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative has launched its pilot phase.
The participative platform is now live!

Constituents from Nata/Gweta, Boteti North, Maun West or South East South, can use U-Speak to share an issue, an opinion or request information to their Member of Parliament. Also, they can submit an issue via the online platform or send it via SMS!

Citizens from other constituencies can also take part in Botswana Speaks! Citizens can use Speak4Yourself to discuss, debate issues and legislation that is currently discussed in the Parliament. All Members of Parliament can participate in these debates and receive input!

The launch of the pilot phase has been announced in Botswana at:
- A Press Conference for the launch of the pilot phase, April 8th 2013
- Training Workshops with MPs and Parliament Staff, April 9th 2013
- Constituency Tour and mini-launches in Maun, Rakops, Nata and Ramotswa, April 11th – 16th 2013

To read the press release click below:
Read the English version

Read the translated version

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South East South: Report on the Mini Launch of the Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative

The South East Mini Launch took place on the 16th April 2013, at Ramotswa Emmanuel Community Hall in Ramotswa. The Leadership that was present in the mini launch included the Member of Parliament, Hon. Odirile Motlhale, Dikgosi, VDC Secretary and Representatives from various schools.  The youth were also present from the various wards of the constituency.  In total 60 people attended this mini launch of the Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative.

In his welcome remarks, the Member of Parliament, Honourable Odirile Motlhale informed the constituents that the Botswana Speaks Parliamentary Initiative is now accessible through www.botswanaspeaks.org.  He further informed them that the purpose of the platform was to improve the communication between him as a Member of Parliament and the constituents.  He further said that the platform does not in any way replace the Kgotla system but rather act as a supplementary to the existing system that has been used to raise issues as well as to comment on any bills and pieces of legislation and motions that are being discussed in Parliament.

DSC_0008.jpg

Caption: Hon. Odirile Motlhale

 

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Botswana Speaks: A quantum leap - article on Mmegi online

Mmegi Online article mentions Botswana Speaks platform launch. On April 10th Parliament was scheduled to launch Botswana Speaks, a pilot participatory website initiative aimed at facilitating interaction between members of the public and their elected representatives online and via mobile phones' Short Messaging System (SMS).

Styled Botswana Speaks, the pilot project was to be launched alongside a public lecture at the University of Botswana's (UB) Library Auditorium explaining - and celebrating - this quantum leap.  According to advance information on the project, the pilot phase of Botswana Speaks is run from this month until December.  Four constituencies - the South East South, Nata/Gweta, Maun West and Boteti North - have been selected for the test run of the project after which it is to be rolled out countrywide.

The key objectives of this project - to get citizens better connected with their elected representatives and render to them an opportunity to get involved in the national decision-making process - are immensely laudable.  For example, when Parliament is debating a bill, the public should be able to comment on the bill even in real time.

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Botswana Speaks got 200 likes on facebook!

Botswana Speaks got 200 likes on facebook! Thank you all for your support!

Check out our facebook page and Like it if you haven't already!

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Parliament launches Botswana Speaks website: Article on Mmegi

Mmegi published yesterday an article on the fact that the Parliament of Botswana has launched the Botswana Speaks website, a pilot participatory initiative that will allow the public to interact with their elected representatives online and via Short Messasing System (sms).

Speaking at a press conference on Monday ahead of the launch South East South MP, who also chairs the Parliamentary Committee on Works, Transport and ICT, Odirile Motlhale said some of the objectives of the project are to get citizens better connected with their representatives and to give citizens opportunities to get involved with the national decision-making process.

"It will allow the public to participate in debates going on in Parliament. Say Parliament is debating a bill, the public will be able to comment on it using either the website or sms," Motlhale said.Motlhale said the project, which cost over P6 million, is part of Parliament's e-parliament strategy, which encourages the use of ICT to better serve electorates.

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