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Zimbabwe
DATA CENTRES
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Will new approaches transform the use of ICT in Zimbabwe? Photo of Harare: Adobe Stock
Building an e-government strategy Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services has launched a National Data Centre. It is expected to change the way data and information is managed in the country. Wallace Mawire reports.
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HE LAUNCH AND operationalisation of Zimbabwe’s National Data Centre is described as one of the grand strategies in successfully implementing the country’s national ICT (information and communications technology) Policy and its e-government Programme. “It is also a clear demonstration of ensuring that the attainment of the country’s Vision 2030 is heavily anchored on the modernisation of our economy through the use of ICTs,” ICT minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere said earlier this year, adding that the SMART Zimbabwe 2030 initiative is the framework which provides for a smart government and consequently for effective e-government. He also said that the ICT ministry would continue to provide the enabling environment that is necessary for the intensified adoption and utilisation of ICTs within government and across the economy at large to ensure that the country moves in tandem with the new dictates of global economics and governance. He added, “This is in addition to ensuring that ICTs are diffused to penetrate to all corners of the country, hence bridging the digital divide and promoting rural development. Deployment of ICT infrastructure and equipment also resonates very well with the National
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Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), as well as the attainment of Vision 2030.” Vision 2030 is described as ‘a vision for inclusive long-term economic recovery’. According to the ICT ministry, the National Data Centre is one of the success stories in the implementation of various projects under the egovernment programme that the Ministry in collaboration with the Office of the President and Cabinet is deploying across the public sector to re-invigorate the performance of government institutions, systems and processes.
The National Data Centre will allow for quick access, exchange and sharing of information by the various users within government The National Data Centre is to be used as a central repository for all government information, allowing for quick access, exchange and sharing of information by the various users within government. It could also offer an opportunity for the government to save money as ICT operations will be based on cloud computing.
“This also resonates well with the Whole of Government Approach,” Muswere said. This refers to the joint activities performed by diverse ministries, public administrations and public agencies in order to provide a common solution to particular problems or issues. The ministry’s goal under the e-government programme is to attain 100% e-enablement in the provision of basic services by the government. The strengthening of the government portal and the ministries’ websites is also expected to provide a platform for citizens and business to access the government information and services that will be housed in the National Data Centre. Progress has also been made with the SMART Zimbabwe ICT strategy and requirements of Vision 2030. They include: development of backbone infrastructure to connect the country to the outside world; the modernization of the ICT backbone infrastructure; last-mile connectivity to all businesses and households through fixed and mobile telephony; and data links to allow citizens and business to access government services through the portal. The mobile penetration rate is reported to have risen to 87.7% from the 10.4% recorded in 2008. The internet penetration rate is also reported to have been consistently growing over
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