Synergies can change face of ICT in Africa

exhibitors.
The clients who also thronged the venue of the exhibition the Harare International Conference Centre were also not disappointed as most exhibitors lived up to expectations.
This year’s event was held under the theme, “ICT for sustainable, Transformational and Human Centred Development”.

There was an increase of exhibitors from last year and most stands received a fair amount of inquiries. Given the success of the event I felt I should share my experiences and some of the issues that came up which I believe are important. I had an opportunity to interview over 60 exhibitors from service providers, solution centres, hardware and software providers, backup companies, e-learning organisations, computer consumables re-sellers, computing colleges, the fibre people, network security providers, cloud computing solutions.

While I cannot relate what each and every exhibitor said I will seek to provide a summary of the key points. Information technology in Africa and Zimbabwe is still a fragile infant, which seriously needs to be nurtured till it’s really self-sustainable. Synergies across Government, media and the corporate world can change the face of ICT in Africa. New innovations were being showcased all over and for a minute, I was drawn closer to exhibitors who really have the same passion for ICT in Zimbabwe. From donkey drawn digital libraries to the latest pentabyte cloud based solution.

Latest tablets, new tech Lenovo laptops, data security encryption’s, digital chalk boards, kiddies’ laptops, home and office security solutions, internet services and support all frantically battled to steal the show at the three day event. These are the players who form the backbone of our technology. They are the voice, which we cannot afford to ignore, because they give us support to move on.

A computer without software is inactive, without connectivity it’s really not significant, but the connectivity world without information security is too risky.
Connectivity relies on the Internet service providers who are also working with the fibre trenching guys or the air for wireless connectivity. This brings in the statutes from Potraz and the interconnectivity chain really gets longer and no one can really make it alone because it requires a collective effort.

The ICT ministry is also reviewing its six-year-old ICT policy. We will need to learn the new concepts that they are really working on.
ICT players cannot only drive alone without the Government and policy makers.
Quite interesting are the current cyber activity and attacks, and I really wonder if our statutes are going to give attention to such areas. Lately we have watched Internet access providers switching to Internet service provision, in their bid to win the market but is it not also time they fight for more class A licences with real voice and video connectivity speeds.

It’s really about owning the bigger piece of cake in the cloud not guests. Recently I perused documents with which the Chinese government defended its ICT policy. Did you know that Facebook, twitter, youtube are banned in China? We should commend the Government for the progress made so far.

So much noise has been raised concerning our local rates and hardware prices, which are the highest in the region.
During the official opening of the ceremony, the ICT Minister Nelson Chamisa highlighted that Zimbabwe is among the countries who are charging very high prices for these services yet it has been now pronounced a basic human right for countries such as Finland. To most Zimbabweans technological advancement is still considered a luxury. He also predicted that by the year 2015 Zimbabwe would be the ICT hub of Africa.

Government has always been at loggerheads with local providers concerning issues of overcharging and profiteering.
I really think at this juncture we will need to hear what Government is going to do and not the same old rhetoric of deploring, imploring and hoping that companies will see reason and sanity will prevail.

One great prophet in Zimbabwe once said do not spend so much time in meetings and discussions but rather implement things.
If transporting costs is the main culprit in pricing disorders then we really need a solution to cut these costs and ease the burden on the end user. Computer Suppliers Association of Zimbabwe (Comsa) Chairman deplored the current pricing and quality rip offs bombarding our market. In his own words he really said that his leash is not good enough to contain these run away prices. Comsa enjoys quite a good subscriptions base but these numbers can really make sense to the consumers if they translate to more affordable and quality products. Any company can supply computing products in Zimbabwe whether it’s registered or not under Comsa. The guarantee of such products is usually a gentleman’s agreement and who knows for how long it remains gentle.

Ironically some exhibitors professed total ignorance about Comsa. They either did not know it or understand how it operates but was this not an opportunity to really bring these suppliers to a mother body, which will spearhead development.

Groups like Comsa present Government with a platform to easily interact and form synergies, which can be the backbone of our industry. Why would a genuine computer supplier fail to identify himself with any authentic body? Is this also not an opportunity for Government to subsidise importation of such products so that at least they land with a much sober price tag? We have talked and highlighted many ICT needs in our regions and it’s high time we start seeing change and acceleration for the betterment of technology.

We have seen the fibre cable and trenches, start and most of them are near completion, other sectors should emulate such progressive ideals and yes come 2015 we can be the ICT hub of Africa