By Staff Reporter
Parliament of Malawi has migrated from analogue Hansard Transcription System to digital following installation of a new system that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has donated.
Speaking during the symbolic handover ceremony of the equipment, Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Honourable Aisha Adams thanked #UNDP for the timely support to Parliament of Malawi which she said is a very big step in the history of Parliament and will go a long way in improving its service delivery.
“Previously, Parliament used to record parliamentary proceedings on an audio tape and Hansard Reporters and Editors had to continually listen to the tapes for them to transcribe. This analogue system was faced with a number of challenges in the production of the Official Report (Hansard) as there was scarcity of audio tapes on the market following phasing out of the technology and hiring of tape decks proved to be challenging and costly”. She said.
For his part, UNDP Resident Representative to Malawi, Mr. Shigeki Komatsubara said Parliament and UNDP have long understood that digital transformation is key to enabling an institution to be efficient, effective, transparent and accountable to the population and to key stakeholders.
He further said UNDP’s strategic digitalization drive with the Parliament is validated, reinforced and embedded in the recently launched Parliament of Malawi Strategic Plan (2021-2026) under strategic Outcome 5: Assets and Infrastructure Improved.
“You will recall that this Strategic Plan was launched last month and UNDP further facilitated the formulation of the first-ever digital transformation strategy, which we believe is on the point of being formally approved.” He said.
Parliament of Malawi was the only country in Africa still using the analogue Hansard Transcription System. With the new Hansard Transcription System in place, the official report of Parliament will be produced within 24 to 48 hours.
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