Translate resolutions into concrete actions

Editor,REFERENCE IS made to the story, “From Kigali ICT summit: Can you cook online?” (The New Times, November 2). It is never a waste of resources to build consensus; Africa needs to move together as much as possible. Rwanda is quite ahead on the digital game in Africa, and people like Perpétue Mukamazimpaka, a 24-year-old woman from the rural district of Rutsiro, Western Province, who, according to the story, asked her guide whether it’s possible to cook online after being shown how to order food online using a business control software called Smart POS–should/will soon enjoy more online businesses such as purchasing a bus ticket, order all the weekly shopping online without having to spend much time in the markets; all will be packaged and delivered to their homes or offices. Technology will facilitate some of the essential things that are part of our everyday life such as setting up an appointment to see a doctor, ordering milk for children, sending for a cab, among others. All this will be done swiftly because we will be managing our time by avoiding unnecessary long queues. It might seem like daydreaming, but if the seven Heads of State, who attended the Transform Africa Summit 2013 in Kigali, really commit themselves to building the required infrastructure and providing associated resources, we will have a good market size to begin with business exchanges and the rest will follow.Rwanda should invest considerably in education and health sectors so we can have a healthy and smart generation to drive the country’s transformation successfully. Proudly Rwandan!Kathy Kantengwa, United States***********************THE DEVELOPMENT of ICT or any other sector will not come from a summit or conference manifesto. Rwanda’s ICT development is simply based on our national vision. A clear example of the ineffectiveness of conferences is the impact of the Connect Africa Summit in 2007 – which is negligible. For your information, the Smart Africa Manifesto, adopted at the end of last week’s Transform Africa Summit, will have to be ratified by an AU Summit to have a bigger impact on the continent. Generally speaking, however, most conferences are a waste of resources.Joe, Kigali

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Translate resolutions into concrete actions