Ambassador Liang was invited to partake in the Electronic Documents and Records Management System (EDRMS) Launch Ceremony on November 20th, 2019 and delivered his remarks as follows:

Your royal highness Princess Sikhanyiso, minister of information, communication and technology; Mr. Mbuso Dlamini, cabinet secretary; Mr. Maxwell Masuku, principal secretary, Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology; principal secretaries from all ministries, representatives of project pilot agencies, representatives of supporting agencies, team members of the EDRMS Development Project; team members of the Taiwan Technical Mission; members of the media; ladies and gentlemen, good morning. SANIBONANI

I’m very pleased to have so many friends with us today for the launch of the Electronic Documents and Records Management System Development Project. It’s true that the project is another milestone in cooperation between Taiwan and the Kingdom of Eswatini. But its’ also true that the project is playing a vital role in realizing His Majesty King Mswati III’s National Development Strategy – Vision 2022.

Napoleon Bonaparte once said an army marches on its stomach. This means to be effective, an army needs plenty of good food. The same goes for government. To be effective, all agencies need lightning-fast access to documents and real-time paperwork submission and management processes.

There’s no question Taiwan Can Help in this regard. Since 1997, my country has made it a core mission to embrace e-government. This was no simple task. As we all know, change is a difficult process. But with commitment and dedication, as well as plenty of good old-fashioned elbow grease, Taiwan accomplished the goal of creating digital processes the envy of the world over.

As Eswatini’s True Friend and Partner in Prosperity, Taiwan is ready, willing and able to share its experiences and technical know-how. What took my country many years to achieve will be achieved in far shorter time in the Beautiful Kingdom. Together, we can promote good governance and realise U.N. sustainable development goal 16: peace, justice and strong institutions.

As everyone knows, Rome was not built in a day. This also goes for the project. But after four years of hard work, I’m proud to announce that Eswatini is well and truly on the fast track to implementing an e-government system that—God willing—will serve as a model for Africa and the world.

It’s no secret that the people have higher expectations of government in the digital era. New challenges arise daily in how best to deliver services. E-government is a solution and something more. It’s a way of spurring a rethink on entrenched processes and facilitating organisational change.

Taiwan and Eswatini are bound by friendship, respect, shared values and most importantly: trust. The project is just another example of how we’ll continue growing together and cooperating to achieve sustainable development and inclusive prosperity for the benefit of the people.

Thank you! SIYABONGA