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Lovemore Kadzura
Rusape Correspondent
Information, Communication and Technological hardware and software is at the cornerstone of the country’s economic recovery, a senior Government official has said.
Director of Information Communication Technology in the Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, Mr Success Mhlanga said this during an ICT procurement workshop in Nyanga early this week.
The workshop was attended by procurement officers and IT experts from parastatals, local authorities, Government departments and agencies.
The officers were capacitated on how to avoid buying faulty, overpriced, as well as counterfeit ICT products from bogus suppliers.
“The National Development Strategy (NDS1) identifies ICT as a key enabler for economic development and a SMART Zimbabwe,” said Mr Mhlanga.
“Therefore, Zimbabwe needs to exploit and leverage on opportunities that are inherent in disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics, block chain, drones, internet of things, as well as big data so as to become a digital economy that will spur the country towards the upper middle income status,” he said.
Mr Mhlanga added that there is need for due diligence in procurement of gadgets.
Speaking at the same event, the Procurement Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) chief executive officer, Mr Clever Ruswa said there is need for procurement officials in Government ministries, departments and agencies to acquire the latest ICT hardware and software in a transparent, efficient and cost effective way.
“Government places significant emphasis on the use of technology to drive efficient project implementation. Procurement is at the centre of such initiatives as it directly impacts service delivery to the end beneficiaries.,” said Mr Ruswa.
“The ICT sector is essential and therefore we should ensure the deployment of ICT infrastructure to the entire citizenry. The acquisition of such solutions must be done in a manner that is transparent, efficient and cost effective. Hence, all parties involved in the procurement of ICT solutions must be committed to promoting this critical pillar,” he said.
Mr Ruswa said given the increasing importance of the ICT industry, there is need to strengthen the capacity of professionals handling procurement of ICT solutions in order to have highly functional procurement teams that meet the demands of the sector within the confines of the law.
Online Reporter