NEW: “Govt wants ICTs for all”

Online Reporter

Government has an obligation to make sure all Zimbabweans have access to Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) regardless of geographic location, a Cabinet Minister has said.

Speaking after commissioning the Elangeni Training Centre, Bulawayo Data Backup Centre and Emakhandeni School of ICT labs on Wednesday, Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services Dr Jenfan Muswere said Government has adopted the SMART Zimbabwe 2030 Master Plan, which seeks to exploit the potential of ICTs in Zimbabwe.

“This vision is predicated on, among others, building on the achievements of the Zimbabwe National Policy on ICTs of 2016 to 2020, which further strengthens Zimbabwe’s economic base and improves its economic environment for accelerated growth towards achieving a Digital Government, a Digital Economy and a Digital Society by 2030,” he said.

“The masterplan, once fully rolled out, is expected to see the country achieving the Digital Economy aspirations of the National Development Strategy One (NDS1). It will completely transform Government processes, services and management, and make information access and service delivery to the general public more efficient.”

Dr Muswere said Zimbabwe’s ambition of creating a digital economy can only be achieved with a digitally literate population.

“Over and above all this, the masterplan, together with the flagship projects to pilot its implementation, will steer the march towards the digital future that will transform the country into a regional technical hub, raise the country’s competitiveness and align the country in line with vision 2030’s digitalisation agenda.”