Mozambique BTOR
1. The two day mission to Maputo on 12-14 May had three objectives: 1) assess the status of the ICTD programmes; 2) assist the CO in the ongoing ICTD mainstreaming efforts; and 3) discuss with GoM and the CO the planning of the ICTD Strategies workshop
2. The ICTD programme has been advancing at a slow pace. One of the obstacles for implementation has been the apparent glitches that the CO has faced in terms of equipment acquisitions. This has now been solved and the first Provincial Digital Resource Centers (PDRCs) are expected to be deployed within the next weeks. The ICT Policy Commission has been strengthened and now has adequate staff and resources to support the overall programme implementation. Markle�s $200k contribution to the programme has been well received by both GoM and the UNDP CO and will probably be programme to support one of the PDRCs
3. I met with POs of the governance and crisis prevention areas. There are good opportunities to run a couple of pilots with an ICTD angle in this areas, specially when it comes to local governance and de-mining/early alert systems. More interestingly, the CO is working on a PSD to revise PARPA (PRS) and is seeking to include ICTD as one of the cross-cutting elements (in addition to gender and HIV) in the process. The CO has requested our support in this process which has not yet been done in systematic way in any country
4. I prepared a separate note on the ICTD strategies workshop (see http://www.sdnp.undp.org/~raul/blog/archives/00000049.htm). The proposal of having the workshop in mid-August has not been endorsed, nor has been the idea by GoM of having the two meetings (Global Practice Meeting and the workshop) in Maputo. We are now exploring early September.
Additional commentary on MZ can be found at http://www.sdnp.undp.org/~raul/blog/archives/00000050.htm
Ra�l
