ICT drive to empower women’s involvement in mainstream economy
GOVERNMENT expects the development of home-grown Information Communication Technology (ICT) solutions to empower women and the girl child to fully participate in the mainstream economy.
In keeping with the country’s thrust to achieve inclusive growth and gender equality, ICT, Postal and Courier Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere, said the President Mnangagwa-led Government was committed to assisting women in realising their economic potential.
He said the ICT sector presents huge opportunities for all, cutting across different sectors of the economy.
Dr Muswere was speaking during a recent handover of laptops in Harare to Zimbabwean girls who participated in the ‘African Girls Can Code Initiative’ (AGCCI) camp in Pretoria in April 2019.
The AGCCI is an initiative implemented by the International Telecommunication Union, UN Women and the African Union Commission, and is designed to expose and equip young girls with digital literacy, coding and personal development skills including access to further information and resources to help them produce innovative solutions for society issues.
The skills and information acquired are expected to broaden career opportunities and inspire entrepreneurship for the participants, thus increasing job creation for themselves and others.
“The girl child is a key player in the development in this nation and it is imperative that we support and encourage them to actively participate in the national socio-economic activities.
“As the world changes, and as science and technology and media continue to converge, women are increasingly viewed as the potential linchpin in a global economy built upon ICTs,” said Dr Muswere.
“Half of the world’s population is female, and women are playing an increasingly important role as economic drivers.
The girl child needs to be exposed to ICTs at a very early age in order for her to make ICT a career in the future.”
The minister said the creation of a digital economy, which is one of the key priorities under the Government’s new economic blue-print, the National Development Strategy (NDS1-2021-2025), dovetails his ministry’s mandate of ensuring the development of home-grown ICT solutions that respond to the country’s socio-economic challenges.
“We believe tapping into the unlimited creativity and innovativeness of our young people will enhance the development of applications and other ICT solutions for our people,” he said.
“This will ultimately contribute to the reduction of unemployment. As the Government of Zimbabwe and Ministry of ICT, we envisage a digital economy in which you certainly have a place because of the skills that you have already acquired.”-chronicle.col.zw
