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AT least 60 percent, or approximately seven million Zimbabweans countrywide, now own mobile phones and Government is working on an ambitious programme to improve access to Information Communication Technology to all citizens by the year 2015, a Cabinet minister has said.
Information Communication Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa said Government was working out plans to make sure that the country would have a 100 percent mobile phone ownership rate in four years' time.
He was speaking at Jerera Growth Point in Zaka, during celebrations to mark World Telecommunications Day this week.
The minister said Government was worried about the skewed ownership of mobile phones and ICT access in general, in favour or urban areas.
He said the inclusive Government led by President Mugabe would soon embark on a programme to donate more computers and other ICT gadgets to rural and remote areas as a way rectifying the imbalance - in ICT ownership - between urban and remote areas.
"Right now there are about seven million Zimbabweans out of a population of 12 million people who now own mobile phones and that translates to about 56,9 percent of the total population but as the inclusive Government we want to achieve a 100 percent mobile phone ownership rate by the year 2015.
"As the inclusive Government we are also aware the ownership of mobile phones in rural areas is still very pathetic and more efforts will be put to make sure that rural people have access to mobile phones in particular and ICTs in general," he said.
He said his ministry in conjunction with the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity would soon set up information kiosks, equipped with modern ICTs throughout to improve access to information in remote and rural areas as part of a national thrust to steer development.
Meanwhile, the minister said the installation of the fibre optic cable linking the country and Mozambique has been completed.
He said the installation of the fibre optic cable linking Zimbabwe to the undersea cable along the east coast of Africa was completed two weeks ago at a cost of US$6,3 million.
"The Government has completed the fibre optic cable lining from Harare to Mozambique in a bid to improve connectivity in the country. US$15 million will be directed towards the setting up of the cable linking Beitbridge as ICTs are the backbone of national development," Minister Chamisa said.
According to the minister, the completion of the fibre optic project is going to offer high speed in accessing the Internet at a low cost
"The completion of this project is going to see access to a robust national backbone being experienced in terms of having high bandwidth at a faster rate and a low cost.
"Also it will promote the application of e-Government whereby people will be able to access information on the country and they will not be any need to stand in queues to apply for a birth certificate or ID cards, but they will simply download and follow the applications available," he said.
The connection to the undersea cables is going to be an advantage in terms of boosting trade and banking transactions on an international level.
He added that the project was entirely funded by Government and another cable linking Beitbridge to an undersea optic cable in South Africa is expected to be completed soon at a cost of US$15 million.
Zimbabwe is rated number 132 out of 138 countries in the world in terms of the network readiness index, according to the World Economic Forum global information report for 2010 to 2011, but the rankings are disputed since the country has not released its own figures.
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