The National Assembly of Zambia, has developed an online citizen consultation platform called “My e-Parliament” in an effort to increase citizen participation in Parliamentary programmes through real time interaction with Members of Parliament.

Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia, the Rt Hon Nelly BK Mutti, MP, FAPRA, who also launched the Communication Strategy for the institution said this innovation is poised to establish a robust framework for effective engagement between the institution and its vital stakeholders as well as the public.

Speaking during the launch of the Communication Strategy and “My e-Parliament” mobile application, at Parliament Buildings on Thursday, 16th November, 2023, Ms. Mutti emphasized the need to bring Parliament closer to the people thereby, fostering increased public engagement with Parliament.

“In an effort to ensure that the National Assembly of Zambia takes advantage of these developments in the Information and Communication Technology sector, to enhance its work and collaboration with members of the public, I am happy to inform you that we have developed the National Assembly of Zambia Communication Strategy,” Ms. Mutti said. 

The Speaker said that the work of Parliaments is fundamentally grounded on public engagement and therefore, the level of public engagement by Parliament to a large extent shows or determines how democratic a Parliament is.

“It has been noted globally, that Parliaments are now recognizing that the public expects much more in terms of increased accountability, effectiveness and efficiency. Therefore, as a response, Parliaments are placing much reliance on technological innovations as a basis to becoming accessible, transparent, open and modern,” said the Speaker.

The Speaker further underscored the importance of the development of “My e-Parliament mobile application” which has been designed to provide a platform for the public to access legislative documents, updates, and enhance transparency and accountability in the entire legislative process.

She urged the members of the public to register on the application as they will be able to make submissions on any subject matter in their respective Constituencies and receive feedback from their Member of Parliament in real time.

The Mobile Application can easily be downloaded and installable on any standard smartphone with internet connectivity.

The speaker also took the opportunity to express gratitude to all the cooperating partners for the support rendered to the National Assembly of Zambia in ensuring the successful development of the online platforms and the Communication Strategy.

And Deputy Clerk-Administration of the National Assembly of Zambia Loveness Mayaka commended Speaker for her commitment in strengthening Constituent relations between Members of Parliament and citizens through establishment of functional and interactive communication avenues.