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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Plumtree Correspondent
THE Government has established 80 Communication Information Centres (CICs) in rural districts across the country as part of efforts to address digital divide, a Cabinet Minister has said.
Speaking on Friday at the commissioning of an information centre in Plumtree and during the World Telecommunications and Information Society Day belated celebrations, the Minister of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services Cde Supa Mandiwanzira said the 80 information centres were awaiting commissioning.
“About 80 information centres have been set up and they are yet to be commissioned. Some are being equipped with computers while some are being connected as part of the final touches before they are up and running. These centres are meant to benefit all community members and I would like to urge mostly youths to utilise them,” he said.
Cde Mandiwanzira first commissioned and conducted a tour at the information centre that has been opened at the Plumtree Post Office before addressing members of the public at Dingumuzi Stadium in Plumtree. He urged community members from the border town and surrounding areas to utilise the facility.
“The communication information centre that is being opened today is part of Government’s efforts to ensure that people in rural districts have access to internet and most important of all, information. Our aim is to cover all districts and ensure that there is communication infrastructure in all parts of the country,” he said.
He said Government has embarked on an exercise to convert all post offices into communication information centres. Cde Mandiwanzira urged local authorities nationwide to provide land for free which could be converted into information centres as some post offices had limited space.
He appealed to network providers in the country to expand their coverage to rural communities. He raised a concern that villagers in some parts of Matabeleland South Province were still using networks of neighbouring countries because of limited coverage by local service providers. He said the country was losing its revenue to other countries as a result of this anomaly.
He said the Government’s aim was to achieve universal voice and broad brand coverage by 2020 and network providers had a crucial role to play in this regard. Minister Mandiwanzira recently noted that more than 50 000 of people in Matabeleland region were relying on network services from Botswana and South Africa.
Speaking at the same event Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) deputy director general, Mr Alfred Marisa said this year’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day celebrations were being held under the theme “Big data for big impact”.
“Despite the prevailing economic down turn the ICT sector has remained viable. ICTs are a crucial tool in the growth of the economy hence the importance of commemorating this day. As Potraz we will always do our best to ensure that we create an enabling environment for people to access ICTs,” said Mr Marisa.
The Government recently announced that it has allocated over $2 million towards establishing community information centres in various districts countrywide.
Online Reporter