Collegues? When is this likely to hit the Kenyan August House? Edith

Threats of computer viruses are the biggest nightmare for the Rwandan Senate and Parliament, which have fully embraced state-of-the-art technology.

This is a sharp contrast to the Kenya National Assembly where normal business is regularly interrupted owing to lack of quorum.

The Senate and the Lower House are fully computerised and rank among the most modern on the continent, only second to South Africa.

Unlike in Kenya, where one has to pass a language test (English and Kiswahili), in Rwanda, a senator must be a university graduate and computer literate, in addition to being trilingual (Rwandese, English and French).

The debating chambers of the Senate and Parliament are virtually paperless. This new initiative headed by President Paul Kagame has resulted in a drastic reduction of costs on stationary, while boosting efficiency and transparency.

The debating chambers and the precinct of the two buildings, which are in two different houses about five kilometres apart, are ICT-complaint. There are internet services for all senators and deputies (members of parliament) 24 hours a day.

Because of the new technology, all senators and MPs must be computer literate and carry lap-top computers, supplied by the government, to the debating chamber and/or to the committee meetings.

Even staff at the Senate and the Lower House are required to use the information super-highway to communicate with each other and with senators and MPs.

Citizens can get virtually all information they want on their senators and MPs by a touch of a button. They can also know what is on the day's order paper, the Bills being discussed, which committees are meeting; and what is being discussed.

This is unlike the Kenyan Parliament where the new technology has not been embraced fully, what with the august House yet to launch its website! Committee meetings are also held in camera, as per the standing orders.

During a visit to the Senate early last week, seven staffers of the Kenya National Assembly were mesmerised by the ultra-modern building and ICT system that has been integrated.

The sub-committee was chaired by Mr Harry Owino, a senior systems analyst. It was on a fact-finding mission to the Great Lakes country to study how it has embraced ICT in the Legislature, and how the same could be replicated in Kenya.

The tour was part of the team's mandate to come up with targets and results to improve service delivery in the Kenya National Assembly, within 100 days. It was part of the rapid results initiative launched by the Government, through the Head of the Civil Service and Secretary to the Cabinet, Mr Francis Muthaura, two months ago

Resembles UN facilities

The debating chamber of the Rwanda Senate resembles the faculties of the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi, where each member has his or her seat, plus a name tag on it and a microphone.

In Kenya, members of the front bench and the back bench seat on benches facing each other, with the Speaker (Mr Francis ole Kaparo) in the middle.

Plans to modernise the building, start live coverage and launch a website have been pending for the past five years.

The Rwandese Senate has an electronic board which shows how many members are present and how they have voted, either for, against or abstained. Lack of quorum has so far not been a problem, according to the Senate President, Dr Vincent Biruta.

He said members were committed and had a high sense of integrity and patriotism. "In addition to the website, we are also reaching out to the public through a magazine focusing on issues before us, and how they relate to all."

But Dr Biruta regretted that unlike the Kenyan media, which was aggressive and gave the Legislature lots of coverage in the print and broadcast media, the opposite was the case in Rwanda. Where they have been invited to attend sessions, they have shied away.

"We even send them a summary of the day's proceedings and only a few FM and TV stations use them," the Senate President said.

The Senate was established three years ago under the new Constitution, following the genocide a decade ago. It receives Bills from the Lower House that have been passed, studies them and either endorses or rejects them. If they are passed, they are sent to the Head of State for assent into law.

The proceedings are covered live by video and are and tape recorded. All debates in the Senate and Lower House are in the national language, Rwandese. They are recorded in the Hansard (verbatim reports) in that language.

But Motions which are passed are translated into English and French for public consumption.

When the Kenyan team visited the Lower House on Wednesday afternoon, it was introduced to the members during debate and given an opportunity to follow the talks through a translator.

By then, two ministers were on the floor responding to public concerns raised by their MPs, on poor infrastructure, water shortages and power blackouts.

Had 20 minutes to respond

The two ministers, Mr Kamanzi Stanislos and Mr Musoni Protais, were at pains to explain to members why the grievances had not been addressed. Each had 20 minutes to respond to all the concerns gathered by a parliamentary committee during a recent field visit. No supplementary question was allowed, as is the case in the Kenyan Parliament.

The debating chamber resembled a UN conference. It was orderly and issues orientated. If that was in Kenya, an MP would ask a personal question and the Speaker would allow him or her to ask a supplementary question. Other MPs were also free to raise points of order and hijack the member's question.

We heard the voice of the speaker of the Lower House only at the beginning and at the end of the minister's presentation. He was dressed in a black suit and matching tie, and had no wig, unlike the Kenyan speaker.

The members could dress formally in suits or casually, in Mandela shirts.

All the Senators have seats reserved for them, with their own microphones placed on a table. As they enjoy leather seats, they can also connect their lap-tops to the system and access the day's order paper, Bills pending and those that have been passed.

By the touch of a button, the Senators can vote for or against a motion or Bill placed before them. The idea is to have a "paperless" debating chamber.

Success of the ICT programme in the Senate and the Lower House has been due to political goodwill by the Head of State and donors, as well as contributions by UNDP, USAID, Microsoft and CISCO, among other organisations.

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