adminICT Minister Nelson Chamisa told journalists on the sidelines of an ongoing exhibition that his ministry was aiming to achieve an information technology community by 2015.
“We are currently working with the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) to come up with affordable prices for ICT products,” he said.
Minister Chamisa said the removal of duty on imported ICT equipment and products was the first step towards achieving price review.
“The world is becoming more of a global village thus we want to ensure the whole country is conscious of information technology.
“We want to make sure every school, hospital, church, among many others is connected online for easy transactions and communication,” he said.
He said the country had recorded a significant increase in the uptake of ICT with penetration rising to 89,3 percent from 13 percent in 2009.
Minister Chamisa said embracing technology was critical to the development of the country’s economy.
“ICT is the future. It is the key in acquiring new skills and techniques in agriculture, education, mining among other many sectors of the economy,” he said.
Meanwhile, the five day e-Tech Africa conference and exhibition is expected to produce a wide range of ideas, opinions, perspectives, research findings and expertise to expand knowledge frontiers for sustainable growth and development through ICTs.
The expo is expected to draw people from the ICT industry, civil society, academia and government to a discussion platform.
It is running under the theme “Exploiting the potential of ICTs for sustainable and socio-economic transformation.” — New Ziana.
Online Reporter