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Conrad Mupesa–Mashonaland West Bureau
Corruption can be fought on many fronts and with many information and communication technology tools being embedded in Government departments, a move being prioritised by the Second Republic, seen as a useful way to nip graft in the bud.
Addressing officials from his ministry and information and telecommunications stakeholders undergoing a five-day strategic review workshop that ends tomorrow at Mazvikadei Resort in Zvimba, ICT Postal and Courier Services Minister Jenfan Muswere said while the Second Republic was forging ahead with ensuring that ICT labs in schools and community information kiosks were being prioritised, integration of Government departments through ICT was a key to reduce corruption.
“We are in the fourth industrial revolution and we ought to ensure that through State-owned enterprises and private sector within our ministry have got to review the plans and strategies on how best the institutions can be incorporated to leave no one and place behind.
“The current petty corruption that we have in this country can now be solved by ICT through a coordinated approach with e-government unit as well as capacitate all the other ministries. During the first quarter of 2023, we want to be able to implement our Government interacting with its departments,.
The Government, he said, was targeting the improved interaction with its employees, its citizens and the business sector.
Zimbabwe is ranked among the best ICT countries in Africa after successfully developing its national broadband plan in line with living no one and no place behind.
“We should now be working on reviewing the Postal and Telecommunications Act so that we then allow the private sector and state-owned enterprises to perform to maximum capacity,” said Dr Muswere.
The workshop was going to review and give directions to complete outstanding the Smart ZIMBABWE Masterplan project.
The ministry’s permanent secretary, Dr Beaula Chirume, said the first three days of the workshop saw stakeholders and parent ministry agreeing on ensuring that access to ICT across the nation was intensified next year with availability of funds and transfers on time from Treasury being a key to achieving this.
“We are reviewing the targets set in 2022 and going forward into 2023 were we will see more access in terms of ICT by our citizens throughout the entirety of the country, going with the theme that we shouldn’t be leaving any place or person behind.
“We intend to increase coverage across Zimbabwe and for the e-learning programme which seeks to connect 1 500 schools annually, to be achieved as defined in the e-learning strategy. However, we are lobbying for additional funding from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development,” she said.
In their remarks, Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mary Mliswa-Chikoka and Local Government and Public Works Deputy Minister Marian Chombo concurred that ICT had played a pivotal role in the province’s economic turnaround plan as evidenced in mining, farming and tourism among other sectors that anchor the province’s economy.
Some of the stakeholders represented at the workshop included the Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, and State-owned Telone and Netone among others.
Online Reporter