A recent conference jointly organised by the United Nations
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
and the National Assembly of Nigeria under the auspices of the Pan African Parliament < PAP> in conjunction with the Global Centre for in Parliaments with the theme,''''Towards the Establishment of an African Parliamentary Knowledge Network on ICT,Legislation and Documentation'''' endorsed the establishment of an African Parliamentary Knowledge Network .
This computerisation of parliaments, would make the different parliaments in diferent African countries to have access to the legislations of other countries, their experiences, ideas and good practices that can help them to make better laws for their people at the touch of buttons.
Within individual countries,legislators would also be hooked up to their constituencies such that the expected consultations between the people and their representatives can more regularly and easily be done on-line.
Networking African parliaments would promote transparency in governance as anyone, anywhere can have access to what is being said or done on the continent.Through peer review mechanism;the parliamentarians can also have a machinery for calling thier colleagues in other African countries to order if they attempt to enact obnoxious or draconian laws.
Noble as the initiative may seem,the smooth take-off of the scheme may be hindered by some factors:most parliaments in Africa are still tied to the purse strings of executive arms of their governments.
The level of infrastructural development in most African countries is such that the acute power problems in some of the countries may frustrate the scheme.The level of literacy is also a challenge as well as the paucity of requisite manpower for the manipulation of the system and the critical question of funding.
The major issue however here,is that, African Parliaments are now ready to embrace the eletronic revolution,a resolve that must immediately be endorsed by the political leadership through the African Union.