adminOswell Moyo Chronicle Reporter
PARLIAMENTARIANS have urged government departments to embrace the use of modern technology to increase efficiency. The motion was moved by Senator for Mutasa-Nyanga Patrick Chitaka during a parliamentary session on Tuesday. People living outside Harare have often complained that it was a hassle to get public information that was supposed to be available to anyone on demand because the majority of government departments wanted people to travel physically to the capital to get even the most trivial information.
The legislators said in this day of Whatsapp, Facebook and email accounts, government departments should make use of the social networks to promote free flow of information.
“When we come down to local government, how many local authorities have live websites? They are very few. I think the majority of them do not know what a website is and yet these are the new communication tools of today. If a local authority does not have a website or a face book account, how does it expect to communicate to its citizens? We are carrying over the legacy of bureaucracy where the less the citizens know, the better,” said Chitaka
She said many government departments had malfunctioning websites which were mostly dominated by statements from officials, without citizens’ feedback.
“This omission of not having websites, I do not think it’s sheer oversight. In a lot of cases, it is deliberate. There are a few with websites but they are dead. When you visit the web page there is only the statement that the Minister, Deputy or Permanent Secretary is so and so full stop; that is the ministry’s website. A website is supposed to give citizens a bit of information than just the head of that Ministry. I am challenging government ministries to at least start by activating their websites,” said Chitaka. The motion was seconded by Emganwini Senator Siphiwe Ncube.
“The issue of understanding each other in information dissemination about issues that are about to happen, for instance, drought, diseases, is difficult when there is no way to put it in a particular way. Everyone should be informed of things that will happen in government down to the lowest levels,” said Ncube.
Investigations by Chronicle showed that government departments such as Ministry of Land, Finance, Public Works, Education, Sports and Culture, Transport, Road and Infrastructure had malfunctioning websites. The Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) website was down.
Zimbabwe is one of Southern African countries which are still lagging in electronic governance. According to economic blue print, Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset), electronic government policy must be developed, government data centres established, government systems automated to improve State efficiency.
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