E-Government the way to go - Mukwita
By BUSINESS REPORTER ZAMBIA is on the right path in the e-government programme, says Zambia’s ambassador to Germany, Anthony Mukwita.
Mr Mukwita said Germany and many countries in Europe are already reaping the benefits of efficient governments and the reduction of costs in the running of government machinery.
This is according to a statement obtained by Daily Nation yesterday.
“Most transactions here are now electronic and may be conducted from the mobile devise you carry in your hands resulting in lower transaction costs and saving on time,” Mr Mukwita.
He was commenting on a research undertaken by the Policy Monitoring and Research Center, (PMRC) that indicated that Zambia has saved K72 million on payslip printing and K68 million on the cost of paper annually.
Quoting Smart Zambia, an e-Government division in the office of the President, PMRC says the e-paylisp system has helped curb the long standing problem of ghost workers that had remained on the payroll and drawing a government salary.
In addition, PMRC notes that the Smart Zambia initiative on payslips has environmental benefits “because the phasing out of paper payslips entails reduction in cutting down of trees and low energy issues.”
Mr Mukwita said on the contribution to a clean environment and clean energy, the Zambian government is already working with the German government resulting in an initiative to set up 100 megawatt mini solar plants in different parts of the country.
“This is in line with President Edgar Lungu’s vision of a diversified energy sector for Zambia”.
The Zambian envoy has pledged support to Smart Zambia in efforts to introduce IT solutions that could help realize President Lungu’s vision for an efficient and effective public sector.
“This is why the Zambian government has an embassy in this part of the world where e-Government is already a reality and examples abound regarding implementation experiences. We stand ready to identify any kind of technical partnership that may be required back home,” said Mr Mukwita.