Information, Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere,
Bulawayo Bureau
INFORMATION, Communication Technologies, Postal and Couriers Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere has said the sixth edition of the Transform Africa Summit (TAS), which begins tomorrow in Victoria Falls, affirms the confidence in the Second Republic’s policies and contribution to the Africa Union agenda.
While four foreign Heads of State have officially confirmed attending the summit, it has since emerged that six more foreign leaders are also likely to attend.
President Mnangagwa is expected to host the Heads of State, a deputy prime minister, and scores of executives of leading financial institutions in Africa who will join over 3 000 delegates from over 100 countries at the TAS.
The three-day summit is an annual forum that brings together global and regional leaders from government, business, and international organisations to collaborate on new ways of shaping, accelerating, and sustaining Africa’s ongoing digital revolution.
TAS is running under the theme: “Connect, Innovate and Transform.”
Speaking to journalists after touring the venue of the summit yesterday to assess progress in terms of preparations, Dr Muswere said while Presidents Mnangagwa, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi, King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Eswatini and Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia are expected to attend, there is a likelihood that more Heads of State and Government will grace the event.
“The Transform Africa, which we are hosting from 26 to 28 April will bring at least six to 10 Heads of State, plus 40 ministers, captains of industry, and innovators from across the globe. Other delegated Heads of State are on their way and we are expecting them to start arriving today until 26 April,” said Dr Muswere.
Angola, Estonia, and Tunisia have officially delegated representatives, while Mali and Serbia will also be represented at a higher level.
The summit is being held for the first time outside Rwanda which hosted the previous five editions. Zimbabwe has been selected to host the high-level event against bids from other 36 members of the Smart Africa Alliance.
Zimbabwe won the bid because it is an active member that is leading the continental Agri-Tech blueprint.
By hosting the event, Zimbabwe places itself on the right trajectory in the fourth industrial revolution as the country aims to achieve its national goals through utilisation of ICTs.
Dr Muswere, who was accompanied by his deputy, Dingumuzi Phuti, said preparations are on course with pre-events such as the Council of African Regulators meeting already underway ahead of the actual proceedings.
He said the conference rubber-stamps Zimbabwe’s digital economic agenda which also feeds into Vision 2030 implemented through the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).
“As we speak right now, pre-sessions and committees are in full swing to ensure the summit becomes a success. As you are aware, the country’s NDS1 also takes into consideration the importance of the digital economy as enunciated by President Mnangagwa,” said Dr Muswere.
Government recently reviewed the ICT Policy and came up with the National Broadband Plan, Smart Zimbabwe Master Plan focusing primarily on smart agriculture, smart health, smart government and safe cities.
President Mnangagwa also launched the Agritech blueprint which is also aligned with the smart agriculture portfolio, whereby the country is seeking to revolutionise the agriculture sector through the utilisation of ICT.
“Hosting the summit reflects on President Mnangagwa’s vision in terms of transforming the entire micro-economic landscape utilising ICT and the confidence that the Transform Africa Summit membership has in terms of ensuring that Zimbabwe is also a part,” said Dr Muswere.
“It also reflects the support and confidence that other members have in President Mnangagwa in terms of championing the utilisation, development, and manufacturing of various ICT gadgets, and his positive contribution in terms of ensuring that Africa achieves a continental support system to ensure that we cut down on the balance of trade as we journey towards a digitally connected society as a country and continent.”
Minister Muswere said the Second Republic’s smart agriculture blueprint was meant to ensure food security for the country and the entire continent.
He said pilot studies have been done while empirical implementation has started where work is being done to develop agriculture and information management systems for the input and output of crops.
To buttress the importance of ICT, President Mnangagwa acceded to the Data Protection Bill which looks at four critical areas of access, utilisation, industrial growth, and governance as part of the development agenda in the fourth industrial revolution.
Government came up with an innovation fund in 2018 focusing on funding academic and non-academic citizens to innovate prototypes, and innovation hubs were created at tertiary institutions to support the digital economic agenda, confirming the country’s commitment to embracing the digital economy.
A number of Memoranda of Understanding will be signed at the summit. – The Herald
