Transport and Communications Minister, Kapembwa Simbao, says government is on course with the implementation of electronic commerce.
Mr Simbao says government is doing this through the provision of appropriate workable strategies that focus on development of broadband infrastructure, digital content, human capacity and supporting innovation by both public and private sector organisations.
The minister was speaking during an event to introduce the latest developments in cloud computing and ‘big data’ to Zambia in Lusaka.
He said government, under a project called Smart Zambia Phase One, has embarked on the construction of a national data centre, public Information Communication Technology (ICT) training facilities and teleconferencing facilities for government.
Mr Simbao said these investments will spur utilisation of ICTs, generation of local digital content and innovations in the sector.
Speaking at the same function, Huawei Technology Zambia Country Director, Emilion Ming, said countries around the world including Zambia have entered into a new era of in-depth integration of ICTs, changing the way that organisations deliver on-demand services to the public, how governments operate and how institutions manage their businesses.
Mr Ming commended government’s foresight and Huawei’s Technology, saying in the near future, everyone in Zambian will be able to enjoy modern telecommunication technology equally and conveniently.
Huawei introduced 3G Technology to Zambia in 2009, and this year it has signed a contract for the second phase of the project to design, supply, deliver, install and for the commissioning of communication towers in un-serviced areas in the country.
Please please please implement e-governance first after which e-commerce will be a sub-function. For instance anyone who wants to access government services, i.e. a passport, drivers license, renewal of work permits, alien cards, payment for government services MUST be done electronically. PLEASE DON’T IMPLEMENT E-COMMERCE IN ISOLATION OF OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICES THAT MAY BE ELECTRONICALLY OPERATIONALIZED.
I agree with you PZ. This e-government thing has been pending the last ten years or so! This should not a big deal for a population of 14 million. Virtually everything can be done on such a platform to include marriages, births, deaths and so on. Those who still wish to apply manually let them do so but at a higher cost in addition to their time.
And guess what, there will be less need for expensive censuses. Resources will be allocated better and imagine a time one is invited to attend an interview because their passport is about to expire!
@Patriotic Zambian and @Nsimbil- you can see clearly PF cadres are out of their depth on this one! Not even on comment! Perhaps bridging the digital divide will seamlessly ease the flow of information. One department that has succeeded, in my view, is PACRA! You can actually file returns electronically although to pay for the service, you then have to take the hard cash to ‘any bank’ as they say! Training and employing PF cadres in this sphere will definitely improve the capabilities of e-government!
These ministries must also become re-organized in order to respond better to the ICT innovation. Most countries now have Ministry of ICT. Whereas it has been shown that ICT can help greatly in the development of a country, it is also known that a lot of work has to be done in order to derive real benefits of ICT otherwise these powerful ICT tools simply end up being used for social intercourse. Education is key coupled with deliberate policies for a holistic approach to integrating ICTs in all service deliveries.
Barclays is the only bank in Zambia that accepts online credit card transactions for local e-commerce businesses… now that Barclays is pulling out, the e-encouraging government should fix the e-pot-hole created.