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THE Minister of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere, says improved access and enhanced affordability of ICT services is at the heart of the Government’s National Development Strategy (NDS1).
The five-year economic blueprint (2021-2025) is a key building block towards attainment of an upper middle-income vision by 2030.
In remarks to commemorate the World Postal Day last Friday, Dr Muswere said the Government was facilitating digital transformation as one of the top economic turnaround strategies.
“Digital transformation is one of the key contributing blocks of the National Development Strategy (NDS1), which was launched by President ED Mnangagwa in November last year,” he said.
“I wish to assure you that the ministry will continue to play a crucial role in this digital transformation agenda by providing accessible and affordable ICT platforms to local communities to achieve equality of access to information.”
The minister said the postal services sector’s role is being magnified during the Covid-19 pandemic hence the Government has declared postal operations under essential services.
The sector has been instrumental in the delivery of medication, medical samples, food and other critical services to locked-down citizens.
“We should not forget that the post can also be called upon in other disasters and we must be ready for that by coming up with disaster risk management strategies,” said Dr Muswere.
The World Postal Day is celebrated each year on October 9, the anniversary of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), which was founded in 1874 in the Swiss city of Bern.
However, due to prior commitments on the part of key stakeholders, this year’s celebrations have had to be postponed to 22 October 2021 and the country’s main event was in Chipinge, Manicaland province.
To celebrate the day, the Government through the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Potraz) on Friday launched the Chipinge Community Information Centre as an ICT access point for the community.
The facility will offer free internet to locals until December 31, 2021.
Young winners of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) International Letter-Writing competition at the national level, were also honoured at the event.
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