LESOTHO IS TAKING A LEADING ROLE IN ADVANCING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION TO ENABLE BROAD ACCESS TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE APPLICATIONS ACCESSIBLE TO CITIZENS.

 Even though Lesotho is the newest member of Smart Africa, it had been selected as one of the countries participating in creating national data Blueprint.

The government through the Ministry of Information, Communications, Science, Technology and Innovation (MICSTI) hosted the first National Stakeholder Consultative Workshop on the Development of the National Data Value Creation Blueprint held in Maseru.

Officiating the workshop, the Ministry’s Principal Secretary (PS), Mr. Kanono Ramashamole highlighted the selection and the workshop as milestone that must be fully owned and won by the Mountain Kingdom.

“This workshop will help us lay data foundations whose results will be seen in the long run,” he said.

According to the PS, when data is well governed, it will be easier to transform manual public services into e-services.

This, he said will allow the government to also allocate resources easier while providing an opportunity for the private sector to innovate.

Moreover, Mr. Ramashamole mentioned that with data, the government through the Ministry of Information will enable many of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications the country so wishes to have.

Meanwhile, Smart Africa Representative, Ms. Aretha Mare highlighted that Lesotho having been selected as one of the countries participating in creation joins Senekal and Kenya who are already reaping the benefits from Smart Africa.

She stipulated that Lesotho was chosen and or selected because through leadership, the country is committed and is actively seen as an agenda setter in as far as digital is concerned.

Additionally, she said Lesotho through the Ministry of Information has laid strong foundations that include the digital policy, thus showing they understand what digital demands.

She expressed hope that through this workshop, Africa will be in a position to translate data frameworks into reality, thus reaching other Smart Africa members across Africa.

In the same note, German Embassy Representative Mr. Ulrich Thueer mentioned that workshop will go a long way in promoting the economy of Africa through quality data.

That workshop was supported by various stakeholders that include Smart Africa, African Union and Germany Embassy to mention but a few.

Source: Lesotho News Agency [LENA]