and freedoms of others and for the public interest to each and all of the following,
namely:- Freedom of conscience, of expression and of assembly and association….
It is the Government of Botswana’s policy to have an open and democratic
Government, with the public able to access information. In its National Strategic
Vision document, the Government recognised “the importance of information and
of developing efficient information systems and networks for the support of
research, education, development and communication with the rest of the world”
and stressed the challenge “to ensure access of all families to information
technology, television, audio and print media, and to further develop an
environment conducive to free flow of information among all the communities of
Botswana.27”
The Botswana National E-Government Strategy (2011-2016) was launched in 2010.
Its main objective is to move all appropriate government services online with the
view of improving the convenience, quality and efficiency of public service sector
delivery in Botswana.
The National Broadband Strategy was drafted in 2013. It explicitly recognised the
need for greater access to and affordability of broadband services. The KITSONG
Centres are Community Access Centres (CACs) initiated to serve as a gateway to
access Internet and other ICT services in rural areas. The centres provide
government information and services, such as school registration, birth certificates,
passports and livestock-tracking. In addition, ICT access was also provided to
Botswana’s network of public libraries, which now serves as e-government access
points.
ARTICLES 10 &11
RIGHT TO FREE ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
Section 13 of the Constitution guarantees the right to assembly and association.
This right is enjoyed by individuals, groups and communities alike.
As of August 2015, 7,628 organizations were registered in Botswana. 1 952 of them
are religious groups, 1,738 are sports groups, 1,608 are burial groups, 80 are
women’s groups and 15 are political parties.
27
See National Strategic Vision: a long-term vision for Botswana, page 17-18.
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