Chamisa To Launch The National ICT Strategic Plan Next Week

The Zimbabwe Minister of ICT, Nelson Chamisa, will on 22 February launch the national ICT strategic plan for the period 2010 to 2014. The launch will take place at Jameson Hotel in Harare at 1400hrs local time.

The ICT strategic plan was approved last month and is expect to be a guideline for the country in the implementation of ICT policies and regulation. Chamisa explained that it’l be “a road map for the Ministry of ICT on how the country can strategically exploit and benefit from ICTs”.

The minister will, at the same function, launch two other packages; “The Africa ICT Achievers Programme” and an “ICT awareness programme series”.

According to the minister, the ICT Achievers Programme is meant to “stimulate the entrance of Zimbabwe ICT professionals into a continental competition that affords them an opportunity to interact and compete with other professionals.” He added that the Ministry of ICT will recognize and reward the role models that emerge in Zimbabwe each year. Chamisa alluded to the awards programme last week in a presentation he made at a function organized by the Computer Society of Zimbabwe (Full mp3 download of the speech here).

The ICT awareness programme series will provide a schedule of regular discussions facilitated by the ministry on the state of the ICT industry in the country.

The minister is also expected to announce the progress of the country’s ICT bill. Consultations on the bill started in July 2009 and there hasn’t been much said about it since. The bill will repeal the Broadcasting Services Act, Postal and Telecommunications Act and amend some sections of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

We will make every effort to get a copy of the ICT strategic plan and post it here after the launch. See you there!