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The newly appointed Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier services Minister Supa Mandiwanzira has tasked all State enterprises that fall under his ministry to craft strategies that will impact on the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Minister Mandiwanzira, who was speaking during a national strategic planning and implementation seminar yesterday, said all State enterprises under his ministry, should think outside the box and make do with the resources they have.

“Money should not be a limitation to productivity, let’s join forces together and see what value we can extract from our strategic partnership with various stakeholders, when need for capital arises you can exchange resources with partners to forge ahead protecting our interests first,” said the minister.

The various Government enterprises including TelOne, NetOne, Zimpost, Zarnet and their strategic partner Huwaei were tasked to come up with new products and services to generate more revenue and clearly spell out their strategies not only for their survival but that also promote national socio-economic development

“Instead of always waiting for loans, we should create our own Silicon Valley and Google projects. These are billion dollar investments that we need to create for the socio-economic development of the nation by using resources that our friends already have.

“China was not always an economic powerhouse but today they have managed to use their own resources creating giant technology pillars which the world is now feeding off,” said Minister Mandiwanzira.

He also vowed to push for the finalisation of the new ICT policy that will be used to guide the industry.

The ICT minister said that Government is now accelerating the implementation of the new IT policy that will deal with contentious issues in the industry, top among them the sharing of infrastructure and the cyber Bill.

The minister also highlighted the importance of empowering the youths and women via sustainable technological projects which in turn will be a legacy to the next generation.

“The Government aims to create equal opportunities for all by promoting the establishment of youths and woman-led enterprises through an ICT-based fund to be introduced soon,” he added.

Minister Mandiwanzira also said that Zimbabwe should use its position as chair of the African Telecommunicatons Union for the next four years to spearhead ICT initiatives in the country.

The Ministry of ICT is expected to develop appropriate policies and strategies that enhance provision of ICT, telecommunications, postal and courier services while enabling an environment for the creation of an knowledge-based society that transgress all levels of society.

The ministry is also mandated to spearhead the development of appropriate regulatory frameworks that facilitate the promotion of information communication technology, telecommunications, postal and courier services as they champion and promote ICT literacy and utilisation in the country in order to enhance regional and international competitiveness as a nation

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