How the iPad could help Mps

The iPad is a modern device that could save Parliament a great deal on printing costs but how the IT Department would monitor proper use of the device is a matter that has not been addressed. Photo by Stephen Wandera 

By Mustafa Ziraba

In Summary

With legislators warming up to receive iPads as a move to cut down its expenditure on stationery, courtesy of the taxpayer’s money, one question stays – will Ugandans get value for money since the same device can be used on more personal uses like music, movies, books, games, social media and Internet, among other thousands of applications?

Uganda’s 375 MPs are to get iPads. While the reasoning behind this is pretty much logical, to save on stationery in the House that is, from a savvy user’s point of view, we need to take a step back and understand how the iPad as a device has evolved, its target market and of what use it might be to the Members of Parliament.

First off, we must clearly understand that an iPad is primarily a media consumption device and very few, in fact close to none, use it as a productive device. One might argue replying of emails and taking notes is under the production category ,however, that could be up for debate. And indeed the consumption expected of the MPs perhaps being reading of bills sent to them in soft copies rather than printing them out and reading news.

Friendly gadget



As a device, the iPad is friendly accessible, and highly functional. In short, it can do wonders in the right hands. I personally love it for its portability, its speed and versatility. You can do research, play games, read books, watch movies, surf the web check email, manage your calendar, and much more.

The possibilities seem endless, but shall it have an impact on how the MPs work and legislate? What exactly would an MP use an iPad for?

The iPad landscape has changed so much in the last year. It is hard to believe that it is such a young platform because it has evolved and matured quickly, users globally have adopted it in droves. In Uganda, the iPad is still out of reach for many as it first off seen as a toy and more importantly it is quite expensive with any version right from the first release in 2010 going for not less than Shs1m.

Thousands of apps
Of course, the devices themselves are only part of the equation. The available apps also add to the power of the platform. With over 300,000 iPad specific applications available, the first thing that came to mind when I heard this story was that there ought to be a special iPad application that is installed on all the MPs’ iPads that aggregates all the information relevant to the house, etc, sort of a closed network setup where an MP logs in and has access to various legislation type stuff.

That way, it is quite easy for the MPs to learn to use the device but also its intended purpose is better achieved in a systematic and more efficient manner.

We also have to remember that an iPad cannot be used in isolation. You need a computer with iTunes installed. Either each MP shall need a computer or the Parliament IT department and/or the IT savvy personal friend of the MP shall do the rounds.

When one just puts down the numbers in terms of the less printing versus the iPad cost, it is a step in the right direction. As a matter of fact I personally believe that with the technology and security a PDF document provides, use of an iPad for viewing and sharing of information by the MPs is indeed the future.

Do we get value for money?
While to a remotely limited extent in the near future, the iPads shall help with the stationery issue in the house as the more day to day use shall be to view meeting agendas and relevant documents I for one can confidently say the value for money analysis was either never done at all or done with extreme inferiority as the cost of the project is hugely misaligned. A test run ought to have been done with MPs that genuinely appreciate the iPads purpose in the house, then later rolling out to the rest.

 

An iPad as a device shall have most common uses as the usual suspects, email, Internet, calendaring/scheduling and, of course, the typical personal uses, including music, movies, books, and news. Without control from the IT department, this just makes me wonder how effective they will be for the majority of the legislators.
Younger legislators? Possibly.