Zambia government launches rural ICT program

The Zambian government is calling on the private sector and communities around the country to partner in an effort to increase access to information through ICT.

A new program, called Rural Energy Powered ICT Service (REPRISE), was detailed last week by Minister of Communications and Transport Dora Siliya, speaking at an open-house event at the Zambia Association for Research and Development (ZARD).

ICT literacy is poor, posing a challenge to deploying access to tools and services, Siliya said.

The ZARD open house showcased the work of the Women's Development Network (WIDNet) project, one example of an effort that has tackled the issue of rural ICT deployment. WIDNet's goal is to contribute to the livelihood of women and their dependants as well as to foster social economic development through ICT, speakers said.

The lack of understanding of long term benefits of ICT posed a big hurdle for WIDNet, ZARD Executive Director Pezo Phiri said. Other problems include the need to digitize information for the program's data center and the need for a bigger training room and computers to cater to the high demand for IT training.

ZARD Board Chairperson Kasote Singogo said access to information is key to reducing gender inequalities. He noted that WIDNet had 11 partners, including the Non Governmental Organization Coordinating Council, which provided funding for computers.

One beneficiary from the WIDNet project, Christine Nkhoma a 62-year-old farmer, said that after learning basic computer skills, she started using a PC to keep track of the consumption rate of animal feed, and is now able to create accurate records of sales. She appealed to ZARD to come up with another program that would facilitate Internet access to information about cheese making.