Week 31 or 2024… there were better weeks!
The history of Somali parliaments and their members reflects the country's complex political landscape and turbulent history. This was the article that I wanted to write and share with you - Then LIDO terror act happened and I feel very sad as mentioned in the video shared with you to write more about tech and parliament related issues.
Having followed the discussions of our ulema last week, I agree with all their suggestion and deep theological arguments. I enjoyed and learnt a lot from their deliberations. My only problem with all I have heard is the timing. This is not business as usual time.. my position is along the lines of the The Prophet (saw) said:
“Whoever among you sees an evil action, then let him change it with his hand [by taking action]; if he cannot, then with his tongue [by speaking out]; and if he cannot, then with his heart – and that is the weakest of faith.” [Sahih Muslim]… am at the second at the moment while I can and soon at the last two when traveling, the weakest of faith!
Back to Parliament and technology…
As I have mentioned in the video, I was very disappointed to see the status of the Somali parliament website, see https://www.parliament.gov.so/ while looking for up to date data - this needs urgent work to make it a credible government website. This leads to to expand the heading of this post to using technology will enhance the image of the Somali Parliament and all government agencies as foundational layer to e-government services.
This above is not acceptable, in fact a quick review of other government websites did not inspire me either. A Digital transformation journey for greater transparency and accessibility in Somalia can only be achieved with availability of secure government websites
Here is an article I wrote earlier, for Somalia’s parliament to be fit for purpose, it needs to cultivate a culture of respecting and relying on external expertise and be better connected with the demos, see https://www.geeska.com/en/somalias-paralyzed-parliament.
May I suggest a collaboration between the government agency in charge of this area and the universities. There could be potential synergy if the IT students are given opportunities to work on the government websites as work experience.
I have mentioned in the video that I will upload this edited version of a video from CRD, a Somali research entity that I worked with long time ago. I can understand and accept views on the timing of this video, more on this in my next post. Comments and feedback as always welcome.
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