Chronicle Editor
Rutendo Nyev, Sunday News Reporter
THE Covid-19 pandemic has led to accelerated digital transformation that has made Parliaments worldwide more flexible, innovative and resilient, an Inter-Parliamentary Union report has revealed.
The report follows research conducted in 2022 based on a survey of 123 parliaments where the Parliament of Zimbabwe was assessed in various categories that were aimed at understanding the parliaments’ response to the Covid 19 pandemic, including assessments on ability to hold remote sessions, among others.
After the research, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) based in Geneva, Switzerland, presented a World e-Parliament Report 2022 titled “Parliaments after the pandemic”.
The report, which was shared by the Parliament of Zimbabwe last week, shows that the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation in parliaments around the globe.
“The report spotlights several success stories, identifies gaps in progress and confirms that the Covid-19 pandemic – despite the toll it inflicted upon the world – has been the driving force behind a wave of innovation in parliaments. The new data shows that the typical parliament of 2022 looks and works differently to the Parliament of 2019,” reads the report.
The report highlighted that the pandemic was a catalyst for rapid and accelerated digital transformation.
“The changes have affected all Parliaments, both large and small, with Bhutan, Mauritius and Seychelles responding as rapidly and dynamically as Brazil, the European Parliament and South Africa,” reads the report.
The report found that many parliaments were unprepared for the severity and duration of the disruption caused by Covid-19.
“Parliaments were unable to physically meet during lockdowns. Some suspended sittings altogether while others reduced the numbers allowed to attend and introduced physical distancing measures. However, many others found alternative ways of working, using new Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
“Some Parliaments created special virtual committees to allow Parliament to continue to function, while others used digital tools to create fully remote or hybrid chambers,” reads the report.
In Zimbabwe, Parliamentarians are given ICT tools like tablets which have helped accelerate the digital transformation.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union report that 87 percent of parliaments said they had become more resilient thanks to digital technologies; 84 percent said they had become innovative; and 88 percent said that Members of Parliament had become more receptive to new ways of working.
Over half (51 percent) of Parliaments held a virtual plenary during the pandemic and more than three quarters (77 percent) held a virtual committee meeting.
“Although Parliaments have mostly returned to physical meetings, remote working has now been more widely accepted as beneficial, including for Parliamentarians with young families, as well as for helping to lower carbon emissions through reduced travel and commuting,” reads the report. – @nyeve14
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu