President Rupiah Banda has called on African countries to adopt and use Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to create wealth and improve their citizens’ lives.
President Banda said the exchange of and access to information and knowledge through the use of ICTs has contributed to development of many countries in Africa .
He said ICTs have the potential to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich nations in the world, adding that it would be to the advantage of the African countries to embrace the ICTs in their quest to develop further.
He said this in a speech read on his behalf by Vice President George Kunda, at the official opening of the e-learning Africa Conference at Mulungushi International Conference Centre.
This is the fifth international conference on ICT for development, education and training in Africa and is being attended by over 1,700 delegates, out of which 700 are Zambians.
President Banda said Zambia now has a better opportunity to develop because of many ICT strategies which she is employing.
He pointed out that Zambia has already adopted the e-government, e-commerce and now the e-learning among other.
He added that the laying of the optic fibre was one measure that is aimed at easing the use of ICTs in Zambia .
The President further said ICTs can help to significantly grow the economy, which is a precondition to national development.
President Banda also said the national ICT policy which government launched would help the country achieve its vision 2030 and will contribute towards attaining the Millennium Development gals by 2015.
He has since urged player in the development of ICTs to provide cheaper by reliable services that would be afforded by many citizens in developing countries.
The President also urged multilateral organizations and others participating in the conference to consider promoting e-learning further after attending the conference in Lusaka .
Earlier, Minister of Education, Dora Siliya said Zambia has scored a lot of successes in the ICT sector, citing the laying of the optic fibre as one of the main successes the country has achieved.
Ms. Siliya said the launching of the video conferencing equipment by President Banda yesterday was another milestone in the development of ICTs in Zambia .
The video conferencing equipment links he University of Zambia and the Copperbelt University .
Meanwhile, a clergyman from Gambia in West Africa , Tilewa Johnson, warned African societies that ICTs can be both a blessing and a curse depending on how it is handled.
ZANIS
Well said your Excellency.
For starters when can we see you on Facebook and Twitter ?
Just to add onto numero uno’s comment, when can we see all the primary schools in zambia to have access to internet? Please, this is high achieveable with all the copper in zambia… Some african coutries are well advanced in terms of ICT and Zambia with all the cheap copper (hence free CAT 5e cables and fibre!), you have under performed on this issue sir! All the Primary schools can easily access all learning modules from anywhere. come on!!
we are Very behind our friends the Tanzanians do not pay tax for buying ICT equipment or electronic items. But in Zambia we still have to pay so that our president can have the very much needed Air-tickets fly everywhere even to malawi to look for Investors
no.1 – the point exactly. I would think he is a least sincere if he sent his message via Youtube, twitter, facebook or skype. Does he know how much it costs to connect to the web in Zed. we still rely on copper wires or satellelite no fiber optics. talk talk no action!!
e-governance??? if we have e-governance, why are people still lining up to get musonkho,lining up to obtain a passport,even a simple NRC, the government wouldnt have spent billions on the useless NCC if zed had e-governance which to my little knowledge is; creating a comfortable, transparent, and cheap interaction between government and citizens (G2C – government to citizens)
More over State house or cabinet office website which should have a link to all govnt depts is non-existant,so how do we implement e-governance
The man does not know what he is talking about. How can he talk about technology and computers when so many do not have the basics, of a roof over their head, clean water, healthcare and a school to learn in ? IT will widen the divide between those who have and those who have not. These folk need to move out of the hotels in lusaka where they hold their high power conferences and go see what is reality in the villages and townships of the country. How can you tell a man to buy a scotch cart if he doesnt have an beast to pull it.
Good Morning
At least we have the President talking progressive issues on the main thread today and not the usual partisan politics. What I cannot bear are those wretched discussions on the blog about such and such a politician, who said such and such a thing about such and such an issue.
Real leaders deal with real problems – like Obama is currently searching for the best solution for the BP oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. Talking about solutions is not what leaders are elected for – they are expected to take decisive action. As the wise man said: “…in times of peace, prepare for war… because those who fail to prepare, are preparing to fail.”
Ya mailo back Home am so exited………….yes Banda has done something sensible do we have to be critics at everything. For shizo some will learn using ICT and thechnology isnt that nice?
Right direction yes,but not just moving fast enough ,and the damn strides are too small l!!!! Where are the ICT professionals in Zambia? Are they even known to the government? Do they consult any?
Chips!
Hows the BGP labs going mate
Lets link up and do some real simulations with your cisco gear
We must move together with the rest of the world. We cant afford to remain behind on ICTs .
they are just talking nonsense, it’s government that is standing in the way of progress on ICTs by their ridiculous gateway charges
Hi Folks,
Just lab’ing up a BigIP with cisco 3750 and some web servers in the way. Anyone know how much a cisco 3750 would cost in Z ?
#13
you can get one from ebay for 70bucks, 2 weeks delivery
what do you want to archieve with a 3750 that you cannot archieve with a cheaper 2950,which will cost you less than 70bucks for a good second hand, unless you are trying to confugure Multicast Vlan Registration MVR with a 3750,otherwise you are better off with a 2950 bra
cgi.ebay.com.au/Cisco-3750-WS-C3750-48TS-E-layer-3-48-port-switch-/290438763297?cmd=ViewItem&pt=AU_Networking&hash=item439f7fd321
Our leadership makes it easy for us to ridicule them. It is especially painful when one sees on a daily basis what some are able to do with as little as a million dollars and and an honest opportunity for those deserving. For instance, infuse a few million into Zamtel and ZRA, make internet access more affordable while maximizing on the revenue collected from international road users at our major border towns (using technology) and in no more than a year the technology you invest in gives right back to you and the people. Such is what happens when you are less pre-occupied with politics as a source of income and more into the politics that serves. This politics of words and inactions has been going on for ages. It has gotten us no where.