Communications and Transport Minister Geoffrey Lungwangwa says Zambia has shown growth in attracting investment in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Sector.
Prof. Lungwangwa says the sector has recorded over 32 percent penetration rate growth compared to 0.02 percent recorded 14 years ago.
The Minister said this in an interview with ZANIS at the ongoing 14th African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He said investments in the ICT sector have continued to pour in since the country launched the policy in 2007 adding that the policy has created an environment for the growth of the sector.
Prof. Lungwangwa said the country now has eighteen (18) participants within the ICT sector compared to one (1) that existed before.
He cited the mobile manufacturing company and various internet service providers as some of the investments that the country has attracted.
The Minister said the government expects more investments in the sector as soon as the country completes the development of the optic fibre infrastructure back bone.
The installation of the optic fibre is expected to make the provision of ICT cheaper.
Prof. Lungwangwa, however, said that the increase in investment in the ICT sector has been achieved amid a number of challenges.
He said the country needed to roll out ICT to rural areas so that people can access internet that they could use to better their living standards.
Prof. Lungwangwa and Foreign Affairs Minister Kabinga Pande who arrived here last night are among African Foreign Affairs Ministers attending the 16th ordinary session of the executive council meeting which opened this morning.
The meeting is expected to adopt the agenda for the heads of state and government summit slated for 31st of January to the 2nd of February, 2010.
ZANIS
These pipo full of pride yet on the groud their achievement negligible cant be seen. Anyway these are their last comments. next year they should be booted out.
Mpangula, there you again. Being negative. There many more pipo with access to phones now then it was 14 years ago. This includes bus drivers, domestic workers etc and this is development.E- mail penetration is very low but it is growing. What you should be talking of is ways that this can be improved( like the high tarrifs) . Try not to tie everything to politics, there will always be more to life than elections and life will have to go on even after the next election. And you should also keep in mind that come next year the indication is either MMD will win or its protege’ party ( the most popular opposition party that is run by a former MMD national secretary ) and has no significant policy differnces with the MMD except for his stance on Chinese investment.
Zambians please! Professorship is an academic post. You are only supposed to use the designation when you are still active in teaching and research at a university. Lungwangwa, Saasa, Mvunga etc and the people who still address them as Prof are what is wrong with Africans.
# 2 Positivist pa Zed
I agree with you, too many negative vibes from our countrymen about our country. Lets try to have a positve attitude, not this slave mentality of continually dissing our mother land because we now eat white bread. Home is home. God bless our beloved counrty Zambia, land of work to do, joy and free men we should stand in unity.
hi zambians ?don’t worry am an engineer in ICT am from rwanda.i would like to come to work in zambia but even in rwanda some years ago we were like you but now we are far.i wanna come and establish my company.
thanks