Established 1930 ICT is key to Socio-Economic Development

AN engineering scholar in Asia Tahir Hameed, in a journal on Information Commu n i c a t i on Technology, reiterates that ICTs can be an enabler to development. “Hargittai and other studies have shown that the rate of Information Technology diffusion is correlated to the general level of socioeconomic development. A most recent finding is that ICTs play a vital role in advancing economic growth and reducing poverty. A survey of firms carried out in 56 developing countries finds that firms that use ICTs grow faster, invest more, and are more productive and profitable than those that do not.

ICTs can be used to directly influence the productivity, cost effectiveness and competitiveness in industries, which is the advantage developing countries can build their economies upon. Catching up on developed economies in terms of application of technology and resulting economic benefits had never been that easier.

On the other hand, the results for not being able to adopt ICTs can also be disastrous.

“As noted by the Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director, United Nations Development Fund for Women “If you look at the opportunities and the threats which exist in the context of globalisation, information technology can become a tool of either decreasing the inequalities that already exist in the world or increasing it.”

Zimbabwe falls into that category of developing countries and no doubt stands a chance to benefit from information technology to grow industries and the economy. The launch of the country’s Information Communication Technology policy to guide Zimbabwe’s economic development through a co-ordinated use of ICT by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week could not have come at a better time.

The ICT policy, together with the Innovation Drive, a policy to provide funding to young innovators were launched at the Harare International Conference Centre at a ceremony attended by ICT and Cyber Security Minister Supa Mandiwanzira and several senior Government officials. President Mnangagwa commended players in the ICT’s sector for their advances that have seen the penetration rate rise to 95 percent and a geographical coverage of 75 percent.

“Furthermore, ICT must be viewed as an economic enabler for the development and establishment of sector appropriate solutions with comprehensive breath, depth, flexibility and applicability. To this end the importance of this policy will go a long way towards making information technology revolution, the basis for ultimately transforming Zimbabwe into an e-society,” he said.

The President added that Government was making great strides through investments in ICT backbone infrastructure, ICT education, research and development, the expansion of Community Information Centres, as well as ICT governance and training of Government officials in ICT usage.

It is envisaged that e-government would ensure services are available to citizens in a convenient, efficient and transparent manner and help in eradicating poverty through automated systems which remove bureaucratic bottlenecks.

We also wish to applaud Government for the Innovation Drive, a policy to provide funding to young innovators, as it will go a long way in capacitating those who wish to do research and come up with inventions to better our industries and life in general.

We have no doubt that the country has the brains to come up with innovations in the ICT sector, but funding had remained a challenge, but that will be a thing of the past now.