By 
Minister of Information Communication Technology Postal and Courier Services Jenfan Muswere has launched Zhombe Community Information Centre.
Speaking during the International Day of Universal Access to Information commemorations and the official opening of the Zhombe CIC, Muswere highlighted that Zimbabwe Internet penetration rate has increased and stood at 61.3%.
“It gives me great pleasure to officiates on the occasion of the 2022 commemoration of the International Day for Universal Access to Information IDUAI at Zhombe Post Office, which is located here in the heart of Zhombe Constituency in the Midlands Province.
“Ladies and gentlemen, while the liberation of markets and the introduction of mobile technology has revolutionised the lives of our people by enabling them to communicate by phone and also to be financially included through mobile money, this development has been highly uneven. My Ministry has rolled out a number of projects including the CIC that has been commissioned today. A number of these projects are centred on providing access to information.
“As we moved from simple voice higher value Internet services, there has been inequality in terms of access. By 2018 in many African countries the number of Internet users had not even met the roughly 225% Internet penetration believed to be the critical mass required to enjoy the network effects associated with economic growth and development.
“Fortunately for us Zimbabwe’s Internet penetration rate has been increasing and stood at 61.3% according to POTRAZ Second Quarter Report of 2022. Broadband network extension remains an issue. Whilst the country’s broadband coverage may be high, significant portions of the population remain unconnected.
“As our Internet penetration tracks our GNI per capita with Internet penetration rate at 61.3%, still half of the country’s population remains offline. The barriers to Internet use for many people are, therefore, not that they are not covered by signal, but that people do not have the resources to get online- primary barriers being the cost of the device as well as the price of data. Affordability of devices and lack of awareness remains the main barriers to internet use.”
Muswere went to say there is a need to address digital inequality urgently that is why there are opening free CIC’s.
“While human development is necessary in dealing with digital inequality alternatives strategies to extend affordable access to communication urgent.
We simply cannot carry on doing things the way we have been doing and expect the exponential changes we require. Today we have launched a number of CIC’s in this Province, which among other benefits will hopefully extend that affordable access to communications.
“You will agree with me, ladies and gentlemen that technological forms of exclusion are a reality for significant segment of Zimbabwe’s population and that digital exclusion reinforces and deepens existing social exclusion. Despite the hype around smartphones connecting the poor, the digital divide between the poor and the rich remains significant. Furthermore, while the digital gap between men and women is diminishing, it however, persisting.
“We still have an opportunity, though, to shape policy and accelerate changes to enable our people to improve their lives through the use of ICT’s. To this end, the Ministry working with the ICT Sector has set up ICT labs in all the provinces including previously marginalised areas. Base Stations have been deployed to cover all areas. Efforts are being made to bring coverage to some areas that had no network coverage.
“The ministry of ICT Postal and Courier Services is seized well with the ICT development of the country and beyond in terms of ICT governance, infrastructure, development, applications development, cyber security, policies and regulations in order to provide ubiquitous and robust access, We strive to ensure that we leave no one and no place behind as we journey towards the attainment of the first National Development Strategy 1 in particular, Digital economy.”
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