IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

ICTs have the potential to help in the provision of quality services when it comes to education, health, commerce and public administration. Statistics show that in Tanzania, the sector is growing at between 15 and 20 per cent annually, which is the highest in the East African Community (EAC) Region.

This time around, delegates attending the 2014 connect to connect summit to highlight and entrenches the value of progressive partnerships in ‘Advancing the Knowledge Society through Public Private Partnership’ in Dar es Salaam agreed that information and communications technologies (ICT) can play a vital role in the pathway to an economic recovery.

Unemployment rates are higher in urban than rural areas (16.5 percent and 7.5 percent respectively), excluding Dar es Salaam with a staggering unemployment rate of 31.5 percent.

Youth unemployment in urban areas is 13.4 per cent compared to the national level of 11.7 percent. Women are more affected, with their unemployment rate put at 13 percent compared 10 percent for men.

Yessaya Mbwambo, Secretary of the Kitunda based group, Kiombo poultry keeping told The Guardian yesterday that they had recently received training from the Tanzania library Service Board on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as well as the various applications of computers and potential benefits of the internet particularly in accessing vast amounts of information.

ICT has huge potential in providing quality services in education, health, commerce and public administration. Statistics show that in tanzania the sector is growing at between 15 and 20 per cent annually which is the highest in the East African Community (EAC) region. It is argued that ICT is vital in protecting the interest of various stakeholders such as consumers, service providers and the government, who have now embraced e-learning, tele-medicine and ecommerce.

However, it is project whose initiators have high hopes. The Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (Costech) says the park will be the first “smart village” in East Africa. It is heartening news, indeed, but it’s still too early to celebrate.

The services include e-procurement, payment of bills and taxes, licensing, downloading of government forms, online services, public information and business opportunities.

The Economic and Social Research Foundation through its Tanzania Knowledge Network (TAKNET) has introduced a topic for discussion to explore how the country can take advantage of emerging technologies to improve government service delivery and citizen’s engagement through e-government, mobile-government and the use of web 2 technologies like Twitter, Wikis, blogs and other social networks.

Secondary schools in Tanzania are facing many problems which hamper students' learning. This in turn affects their performance in the national examinations hence reducing the growth of a learned society.

In its "Africa B2C E-Commerce Report - 2013", yStats.com found a number of countries with strong online sales have already emerged, including South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco.

An increasing Internet penetration rate, the rapid spread and accessibility of mobile technology, and recent improvements to ecommerce payments and delivery infrastructures on the continent have all been linked to the online retail boost.

Zanzibar has chosen to use e-revolution instead of egovernment because the former means 'everything' for the islands.

It is e-revolution, argues Mr Mohamed Juma Ame, head of the project facilitating committee adding that "e-government is comprehensive revolution in internet, convenient telecommunication, education, e-health, etc."

He stressed the need to invest in science and technology, urging the residents to motivate more students to learn science subjects, including giving incentives to those students who excel in science subjects.

Despite the fifth phase government’s vision to have an industrial based economy gaining momentum, some think it can be accomplished only if the country invests more in Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Various initiatives have been taken to ensure this goal is reached, and one is the establishment of a five year national development plan which puts an emphasis on the establishment of more industries which will contribute directly to the national economy and help curb unemployment.

The call was made in Dar es Salaam over the weekend by Consulting Engineer and Director of ICTs Eng Dr Zaipuna Yonah in a seminar with news editors on the progress of the National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB).

As the 17th parliamentary sitting got underway yesterday, lawmakers were seen using tablets.

Reports from the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Stephen Kigaigai, had it that the House decided to go high-tech as a means of reducing use of paper in its businesses. This explains why Members of Parliament were seen using tablets.

It is therefore no surprise that one of the greatest achievements of modern-era development is improved communication which, with the advent of the telephone, marked the beginning of a technological revolution.

With electronic transfer of information, the weapon known as communication has neared perfection. Indeed, advancement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has brought the seemingly impossible right on to the palms of our hands and right at our fingertips.

Finance and Planning Minister Philip Mpango has directed heads of public institutions, which are yet to join in the Tanzania National e-Procurement System (TANePS) to do so before December 31.

Dr Mpango warned that those institutions that will fail to join in the system will be forced to vacate their offices.

When properly used, she said, would enable them hire qualified people without favour. "I would like to request the secretariat to use this website wisely so as to avoid favouritism. Many people have been saying that unqualified employees get jobs at the expense of those with the required qualifications," said Ms Ghasia.

"We appreciate our government's efforts to champion use of ICT in increasing efficiency. A government network (e-government) under the President's Office for Public Services has been established, which is a good step," she noted.

Mr Sefue made the call yesterday in Dar es Salaam at the close of Public Service Week which involved various weeklong activities including an exhibition which was organized to educate the community about the services provided by various government departments and agencies.

Speaking at the launch on Monday, the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Welfare,Dr Seif Rashid, said his ministry, being the primary government institution for providing health information, raising health awareness and monitoring the quality of health services, had reoriented its policies towards improving operational efficiency.

NIDA Public Relations Officer Thomas William told The Guardian that the exercise is scheduled for six weeks and will be completed in time reaching both Zanzibar and Pemba Islands.

He explained that the equipment being used in Zanzibar is modern and has helped speed up the registration process as well as taking of fingerprints and photographs.