The preparation of the agenda is one of the resolutions that emerged from the first Interministerial Meeting of Electronic Governance of the CPLP and VII Meeting of Focal Points of Electronic Governance, which took place today under the presidency of Cape Verde, a country that also holds the rotating presidency of the Lusophone community.
At the end of the meeting, which took place by videoconference, the deputy prime minister and Minister of Finance of Cape Verde, Olavo Correia, said that the Portuguese-speaking countries will prepare an agenda for digital governance, which will be approved by March 2021.
"To allow us to then create points of consensus and alignment here in relation to accelerating the reforms that should be undertaken in terms of digital governance in our countries," said Olavo Correia, at a press conference in Praia.
The spokesman for the meeting said that the agenda will involve several aspects about the future of digital governance, considering that technology should not be just a technological issue, but an instrument at the service of governance, which must be open, transparent and focused on producing results.
“To make life easier for people, for companies, to guarantee a continuous, permanent service, anywhere and at any time and in an increasingly comfortable way”, continued Olavo Correia, for whom one should focus on people and their qualification, as well as improving management and service provision.
In addition, the official stated that the service should be proximity, facilitator, and provided with security, with confidence and with technological infrastructures accessible to all.
“There are several themes that are on the table and our focal points are analyzing all these matters, these and others, so that from these analyzes we can build a common agenda for the CPLP, which starts from the specific agenda of each of the our countries, which are at different stages in terms of the evolution of digital governance ”, assessed the minister.
For number two of the Government of Cape Verde, it is from these different experiences of the countries that a common agenda can be built, better for everyone and for each one.
“I hope that by March 2021 we will be able to approve this agenda, with all the pillars that are fundamental to accelerating the dynamics of digital governance”, said the meeting's spokesman, who oversees the portfolio of new technologies in Cape Verde.
According to Olavo Correia, the acceleration of this dynamic of digital governance will allow the Lusophone community to improve its response to the challenges of the covid-19 pandemic, with its use in all public services.
So far, the minister said that all countries have been giving an "effective response" to covid-19, but stressed that they must continue with reforms.
“Technology is at our disposal for a quick and effective response and we are satisfied with the responses that have been given by each of the countries that are part of this community, which is the CPLP”, concluded Olavo Correia.
The first Interministerial Meeting on Electronic Governance took place under the theme “Leveraging public governance and leading innovative solutions to address the Covid-19 pandemic”.
In July 2018, Cape Verde assumed the 'pro tempore' presidency of CPLP, at the Summit of Heads of State, held in Santa Maria, on the island of Sal, under the motto “People, Culture, the Oceans”.
CPLP member states are Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste.
