PNG Parliament’s ICT delivery to be boosted with the UN’s support

Port Moresby, February 24, 2016 – UN experts visited Papua New Guinea to provide technical and strategic advice to the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea and Bougainville House of Representative in improving its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use.

During their visit two Senior ICT Advisors - Gerry Kessell-Haak (New Zealand) and Richard Coombe (Scotland) met with Parliamentary staff in Port Moresby and Buka to review and assess the existing ICT infrastructure and conduct meetings with staff about the requirements of their jobs.

Following the visit, the experts have begun to develop costed ICT Assessment Report with timetables, which will help to implement new ICT strategies.

In welcoming the advisory team, Acting Speaker Hon. Aide Ganasi thanked the UNDP for facilitating the exercise. “Any assistance given to improve ICT infrastructure and processes in Parliament will assist in achieving the Speaker’s Hon. Theo Zurenuoc's vision to modernize Parliament", he added.

The Deputy Speaker of the Bougainville House of Representatives, Hon. Francesca Semoso stated that an improved ICT network for the Bougainville House of Representatives, will positively impact the conduct of Parliamentary business by Members and further strengthen inter–parliamentary communication with other Parliaments that are part of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

“ICT provides critical tools for building strong, effective Parliaments’ that are able to advance inclusive and sustainable human development. UNDP is happy to partner with the Government of PNG and the Bougainville House of Representatives to use its best knowledge and expertise for the benefit of the country. This support will assist the PNG Parliament and the ABG Parliament to improve the effectiveness of their legislative and representative work”, said Mr. Roy Trivedy, the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative.

The initiative is part of UNDP’s larger work on strengthening Parliaments around the world as an institution of governance. In the Pacific, UNDP is working to strengthen the capacities of legislatures in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Palau, Kiribati, PNG including Bougainville and Republic of Marshall Islands.