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CALENDAR

Speech on the official opening - by the Deputy Speaker Honourable Bahiti K. Temane MP

Director of ceremonies, Invited and distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen,

I feel honoured to be afforded the opportunity to officiate on this occasion of the official opening of this year's association of parliamentary libraries of Eastern and Southern Africa. I welcome you all, especially those who are from outside Botswana. It gives us such pride as a country to host such an important conference.

The world is undergoing rapid changes and our continent Africa finds itself in an era where social attitudes and values globally, are changing at a very fast rate. The continent has to cope with the fast pace of urbanisation, and increasing contact with diverse foreign cultures. This calls for this continent and the sub saharan region in particular to adapt to challenges of global society without necessarily losing the positive aspects of its values and culture. You are therefore meeting at a time when your individual countries are grappling with efforts to fit and compete with other societies within this setting of a global village. In short, we are literally running where other countries and societies walked!

Director of ceremonies, the association of parliamentary libraries of Eastern and Southern Africa serves as a vehicle through which countries of the region would facilitate interaction. This association was formed in order to facilitate effective information resource exchange programmes and co-operation among parliamentary libraries in the region and to create a morally and ethically upright society. There is therefore a need to have a skilled and focused leadership which will adequately implement these programmes. We should again note that it is not enough to have attained parliamentary democracy without maintaining, nurturing and sustaining it. One of the best ways of maintaining and sustaining democracy is by making information accessible and available. Parliamentary libraries are better placed to avail information. The use of parliamentary libraries unlike in past decades, is not to store books only, but to provide a user friendly environment where members of parliament can as quickly and as easy as possible get the information.

Ladies and gentlemen, there is a saying in our language (Setswana) that "Setshwarwa ke ntsa pedi gase thata" what this means is that collective effort is better than single effort. We are aware that parliamentary libraries serving individual parliaments do not have all the resources they need in order to deliver efficient and effective information services to their clients.

The formation of APLESA was promoted by such a realisation. The region decided to network and share its resources through this association. I am informed that it was formed in harare, zimbabwe in 1994 and it holds conferences of this nature annually. Keep it up, but do not just count the number of conferences held over a given number of years; count on the results and/or your achievements.

Director of ceremonies, we should continue to put our heads together, to learn from one another, share our resources and exchange information in order to match with the rapid international developments in information technology that are re-shaping the global societies today. While much can be borrowed from the western countries, we need to scrutinise our own resources and culture to promote wide and speedy information dissemination. All things said, and other things being equal; communication is defined as "ways and means by which people form or break relationships".

Looking at the theme of this conference, "Parliamentary libraries: Challenges of the new millennium". It clearly indicates to me your association's commitment to the development of parliamentary libraries so that they are not only resources of printed information, but electronic as well.

Director of ceremonies, the topics on your programme, different as they are, all aim at enhancing, improving and intensifying parliamentary libraries so as to provide better services to members of parliament. We are aware that issues that members of parliament discuss, cover a wide range of activities and these include such matters as environmental concerns, human rights issues, poverty alleviation and a host of socio-economic ills. They therefore must be furnished with appropriate resources and relevant tools of trade to perform these functions.

I am sincerely hopeful that you will take the task before you with the seriousness it deserves to make this conference a success.

Director of ceremonies, I am also certain that the conference will come up with useful resolutions that every participant will want to apply in his/her own country.

I do not intend to delay the commencement of the conference, however, allow me to once again express how much we appreciate your presence in botswana and to wish you successful deliberations.

I now declare this 7th APLESA conference officially opened.

Thank you.

Pula! Pula! Pula! Pula!