President to commission Dangamvura ICT Centre
THE moribund Dangamvura Post Office was given a new lease of life after it was converted into an Information Communication Centre and will be officially opened by President Mugabe today (Friday).
The post office underwent massive refurbishments which created employment to local youths as labour was sourced from the surrounding locations especially in Ward Six.
It was a hive of activity the whole weekend with construction work being supervised by Zimpost management as well as the political leadership including Member of National Assembly for Dangamvura-Chikanga constituency, Cde Isau Mupfumi. A Zanu-PF delegation among them Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Dr Chris Mushohwe; Minister of Information, Communication and Technology and Courier Services, Cde Supa Mandiwanzira; Minister of Energy and Power Development, Dr Samuel Undenge; Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs, Cde Mandi Chimene; Zanu-PF National Secretary for Youth Affairs, Cde Kudzi Chipanga and other senior Zanu-PF officials toured the project last Saturday to inspect progress.
In an interview on the sidelines of the visit, an excited Cde Mandiwanzira described the creation of the ICT Centre in Dangamvura as an emotional one to him.
“This ICT Centre is emotional to me because I attach so much value to it since I grew up in Dangamvura. Our high-density suburbs have a lot of potential to create employment opportunities to local youths and as a ministry we saw it fit to come up with 100 ICT centres across the country. It is our wish that every district across the country should have an ICT Centre. The world has embraced ICT as a means of doing business and who are we in Zimbabwe to be left out?
“The new Dangamvura ICT Centre will have facilities to allow residents easy access to computers, internet and in-short, the people of this high-density suburb have joined the information super highway. We are also there to complement President Mugabe’s efforts in promoting the use of ICTs especially in schools,” said Cde Mandiwanzira. He said the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe was busy identifying suitable areas to establish more ICT centres in the country.
“Our wish is to have as many ICT centres at major centres across the country, but this depends on availability of resources. The 100 centres I mentioned earlier on are the initial target, but we are not stopping there. By establishing ICT centres, we will be also refurbishing post offices which most of them are in a derelict state.
‘‘We should move with the times and put all existing infrastructure into proper use for the benefit of the local communities,” he said.
In a separate interview, Cde Mupfumi, said the refurbishment of Dangamvura Post Office had generated a lot of interest in his constituency.
“This is one project we are proud to be associated with. It will complement our efforts of availing better internet facilities to residents. Since being elected into office, our constituency office at Dangamvura Beit Hall was offering free Wifi to residents.
‘The proximity of Dangamvura Post Office to our constituency office will surely bring a lot of excitement to youths in Dangamvura as they will have more access to internet services.
“It is our hope to create more business opportunities for our youths as internet has a lot of opportunities to offer to users. We also hope pass-rates will improve in local schools as children will have more access to internet facilities,” said Cde Mupfumi.