If approved, the ICT Bill will put in place a new strategic ICT plan for the country, launched in February.
According to SciDev.Net, Nelson Chamisa, Zaimbabwe’s ICT Minister, said the Bill’s five-year plan would unify ICT strategies in the country, aim to develop further the ICT infrastructure and enhance the capacity to produce hardware and software locally.
The Bill also addresses e-business, e-government, cyber security and ICT investments issues, promising to change the face of ICT industry in Zimbabwe.
However, a report by Technology Strategies International, a technology market analyst, released in March, noted the poor fixed line infrastructure and low penetration of mobile usage in the country.
According to ‘Investment opportunities in the ICT sector in Zimbabwe: 2010′ report, state-owned operator Telcel has grown its fixed telephone lines by just 3% since 2005, reaching only 365,400 subscribers by the end of 2009, from a total population of 11 million people. Furthermore, only 3.9 million Zimbabweans are mobile subscribers, a few over 30%.
According to Chamisa, the Bill can only succeed if governments is engaging with ICT providers and other stake holders, through private-public partnerships.
He said that 75% of the plan’s success lies in government’s hands, while 25% makes the resources and finance needed.
Zimbabwean analysts and Internet consultants are welcoming the Bill’s strategic plans, which would entail faster access to online resources, but condemn the lack of interest in the current skills shortage in the country’s ICT sector.
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Quelle/Source: IT News Africa, 23.04.2010
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