DRIF19: Experts urge civil societies to sustain engagement with Govt. to enhance policy processes
Panellists at DRIF19 in Lagos
Engagement
By Stellamaris Ashinze and Chiazo Ogbolu
Lagos,April 25, 2019 (NAN) Panelists at the 2019 Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF) on Thursday said that sustained engagement with the government would help to enhance policy processes.
The panelists, who made the assertion at DRIF in Lagos, had a Roundtable on “Inclusive Multi-Stakeholder Cyber Security Policy Process”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the forum which was in its 7th year, was formerly known as the Internet Freedom Forum, an annual bi-lingual Pan-African forum that provided a platform for debating tough topical global issues around digital inclusion and digital rights in Africa.
DRIF is best known for its track records of tangible actionable outcomes and had gained a reputation as an important platform where conversations on digital policy in Africa were shaped and policy directions forged.
Mr Emanuel Edet, Head of Legal Services and Board Matters Unit at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), said that the bureaucracy in government portrayed its services as ineffective.
According to him, these procedures have been in existence over the years but added that there is the need for new rules of engagement to effect services.
He added that there existed an inclusive multi-stakeholder engagement as regards cyber security policy processes but that the problem that existed had to do with the issues around cyber crime.
“Exclusively, people tend to believe that the issue of crime belongs to government, cyber security is a new ball game because the infrastructure is not by government and that is why a multi-stakeholder approach is essential.
“The basic foundational issue to be addressed has to do with determining issues the stakeholders are to address. We need to understand that all stakeholders involved may not have the interest of the public at heart.
“A cyber crime offender is also a stakeholder in the space and so while enacting policies, they should also have them in mind,” he said.
He called for the development of networks and engaging channels with government which would help to hasten the procedure of getting and passing of information.
Edet added that the normal reaction from government when things got to the extreme was to ban the topic, urging the public to ensure that issues put out were well understood by the government.
He also urged the civil society to advocate, networking, adequate engagement and as well as sharing value proposition which would sustain that engagement model that existed in government.
Contributing, Mr Victor Kapiyo, Trustee, Kictanet, Kenya, said that a multi-stakeholder approach was where the process was actually opened, sustained and made accessible to all relevant and interested stakeholders who could engage meaningfully.
According to him, when government sees some issues as a thorn in the flesh, it tended to push the civil society and it’s proposal out without listening to them.
He added that government must be reminded continously to create space for civil societies because some of them had skills that could be beneficial to it.
“Initially in Kenya, we had difficulties in dealing with ministries due to their unwillingness to respond to letters, but with constant engagement and knock on their doors with documented, it yielded good results.
“Most of the parliamentarians were only there for party alignment, they do not see the value of having a good law to address specific things and so do not bother.
“Civil societies should ensure that they provide alternatives if they believe that some laws are infringing on their rights,” he said.
Kapiyo added that multi-stakeholder approach to ensuring policy processes were done, was a living and endless process and not the responsibility of government alone but for everyone.
Vivian Affoah, Programme Manager, Freedom of Expression, Media Foundation for West Africa, Ghana, said that in engaging the public on cyber space, there was the need to use the language they could understand so as to support their engagement processes.
“In Ghana the process was not as smooth as expected as people that were meant to feature in the engagement were excluded but with time, government understood the contributions of the civil society,” she said.
Mrs Rukayat Adeyemu, Expert Group of Senate Information and Communications Technology and Cyber Crime Committee, said that there would not be a complete process without all stakeholders being involved.
“The problem pertaining to Nigeria is that we like the fire brigade approach where we do not do the needful at the right time and that affects out efforts.
“It is well to note that people tend to lose interest in processes when there are no money attached,” she said.
Mrs Titu Akinsanmi, Head, Government Relations and Public Policy, Google, said that the law itself did not guarantee the citizens to express themselves.
According to her, there should be a rethink of the data privacy in the country and also ensure that laws put in place to address security concerns do not infringe on human rights.
“Inclusion is possible when it happens at the start of the process but there is need for everyone to engage and participate in what happens in the cyberspace,” she said.
She also urged the public to utilise technologies that prevailed, adding that the technology should not be online alone but to meet people where they were to make the impact. (NAN)
SKA/CAN/CHOM/PDE
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(Edited by Chioma Ugboma/Peter Ejiofor)