Parliament Office yesterday received funding to the tune of $5.2 million which will go towards equipping it with the capacity to stream live parliamentary sittings, committee meetings and other parliamentary-related activities via the internet.
The handing over of the funds for the Parliamen-tary Live Streaming Project followed the signing of a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) between the Government of Canada and Parliament Office at Public Buildings. It is being facilitated under the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.
Signing for Canada was Canadian High Commis-sioner Nicole Giles while Clerk Sherlock Isaacs signed on behalf of Parliament Office.
The project’s live stream Consultant Stefan Gajie told reporters yesterday that since the funds have already been acquired,
the procurement of the needed equipment will come next. He suggested that this aspect should be simple since all the needed equipment is readily available from suppliers.
The entire process, from the installation of the needed equipment to the training of staff to operate the live streaming system will take anywhere from three to six months, Gajie explained, and House Speaker Raphael Trotman added that after the installation of equipment and training of staff is completed they will take some time to properly test the system.
With the budget reading and subsequent debates just a few months away, many will be hoping to have access to a live stream of these sittings but it is not yet sure if this will be possible.
Giles said the project will enhance the democratic process by giving Guyanese greater access to their policy makers. Among other things, the live stream system will create an additional avenue through which policy makers will be held accountable for their actions and decisions, while also increasing the level of transparency in the legislative process.
According to Trotman, persons in Guyana and the Diaspora, once they have internet access, will now be able to observe the workings of the legislature. He said the added capacity will bring Parliament into the technological present, while noting that there is still much to do and a far way to go.
Though movement in this direction was influenced, in part, by a realisation of the need to increase Parliament Office’s technological capacity, Trotman explained that both he and his staff have long been bombarded by members of the public for the lack of available information on the legislature’s activities, and have suffered “striking insults” at times.
And there are plans to go even further. He said that Parliament Office is looking to have live sessions broadcast on television and via radio.
This is the latest development in technological advancement for Parliament Office as it seeks to modernise its operations.
Last December, Parlia-ment Office benefited from 15 Samsung Galaxy Tab 3s, five Dell OptiPlex desktop computers, and one Dell laptop. The equipment was made available by the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) to facilitate is Paperless Parlia-ment Test Project.
