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Christopher Farai Charamba Political Writer
In 2011, Tim O’Reilly wrote an article in the Financial Times titled “The Birth of the Global Mind”.

O’Reilly made the argument that there is a symbiotic relationship between human beings and technology.

Collective human knowledge vastly augments technology, which in turn improves people’s lives.

“Our computers have no intelligence without us, but they accelerate our collective intelligence at a speed that has never been seen before,” he wrote.

O’Reilly further pointed out that the Internet has become a depository for people’s information, a vast memory bank.

Through the use of mobile technology, anyone with a connection can tap into what he calls the “global brain”.

The Internet and all other technologies associated with it have revolutionised the way people live and interact with their environment.

It is a tool for learning, sharing experiences, shopping, working and many other services.

One could argue that it is almost impossible to function in the modern world without being connected online in some way, an email address at the very least.

A major advantage of the Internet is that it has made the world smaller.

Sitting in an office in Harare, one can conduct business with people in New York. While commuting from Gweru to Bulawayo, a farmer can purchase a combine harvester from Turkey.

Increasingly, the Internet has also become the first port of call for people looking for any kind of information.

A Google search reveals that there are over 65 000 Google searches per second, totalling over four billion searches per day.

Google is the most widely used search engine with a market share of over 65 percent.

The volume of searches shows the importance of the Internet to looking for information.

The most frustrating thing is when you search and the data cannot be found.

This unfortunately is the case when looking for information related to the Zimbabwean Government.

The online presence of Zimbabwean institutions is abysmal. This is an issue raised in Zororo Makamba’s “Point of View” this week. He points out how outdated some ministry’s websites are.

The Ministry of Women’s Affairs, for example, has a picture of Hon Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri as the minister except the name below reads Hon Nyasha Chikwinya; none of them hold that post.

The Ministry of ICT was another culprit singled out. Their social media links on their website went to pages that had nothing to do with the ministry, he found.

These have since been corrected for Facebook and Twitter, but their YouTube and email links remain dead.

Quite shocking actually that the ministry responsible for Internet-related issues in Zimbabwe would have such basic technical issues on their official website.

It inspires little confidence on what to expect elsewhere.

This column has repeatedly argued that the Government needs to improve its online presence – a message that Makamba echoes when he states that if the Government markets that Zimbabwe is open for business, then it should reflect as such online.

The Internet is the first place any investor would go to to familiarise themselves with the country.

As O’Reilly wrote in his article, “humans create the documents that make up the web and provide the associative links between them.”

The current administration therefore has a responsibility to put information about Zimbabwe online and reach out to the world.

To their credit, the Zimbabwean Government has made some changes to a few key websites.

The first is the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC). The new website clearly outlines the structure and functions of OPC, it has a section for documents such as those on ease of doing business, it also links to all the other entities under the OPC.

The site still needs to be improved and updated with more information.

Some of the links such as Press releases and Cabinet decisions contain no resources. There is also no additional information on specific departments under OPC aside from their names on a list.

The Ministry of Mining also upgraded their website and perhaps has the best looking one of all the Government entities.

The landing page has links to minerals in Zimbabwe, mining regulations and legislation and investment opportunities.

Where first impressions go, it gives a good one to those interested in that sector.

This then begs the question why other Government websites do not look like that of the Mining Ministry or OPC.

Why is there no standard template for the Zimbabwean Government’s online presence? Is this not the function of the Government Internet Service Provider or the Ministry of ICT and if it is, why has it not been carried out?

The new dispensation should strongly consider the way in which it brands itself on the Internet. Not only is it a place where people look for information, but it is also where people interact in their personal, social and business lives on a daily basis.

Social media has become an important tool for individuals, businesses and institutions and one which the current administration needs to capitalise on.

As Internet penetration increases in Zimbabwe, more people will get their information through social media platforms.

Having official and verified accounts allows the Government to better curate certified information and help stem the flow of rumours and fake news.

It also allows citizens to interact with the State and helps Government officials to have a better understanding of the pulse of the people.

Regardless of one’s thoughts about the Internet and social media interactions, it has become a key feature of human life and it is better to command and own the space than to be reactionary when things spiral out of one’s control.

Making these online changes and incorporating new technologies into their communication strategies will go a long way to improve the image of the Zimbabwean Government.

A number of these improvements are simple enough to make and only require competent and visionary leadership in the ICT section and the political will to see them through.