Zambia’s ASC Patrick Kangwa preaches e-governance
Acting Secretary to the Cabinet (ASC) Patrick Kangwa, Permament Secretary – Management Division, E-Government Division – Cabinet Office, Ms. Kusobile Kamwambi and National Co-ordinator, Electronic Government Division -Smart Zambia Institute Peter Chinyama at a 2022- 2026 Republic of Zambia Cabinet Office E-Government Division (Smart Zambia) Validation Meeting on the Implementation of the National E-Government Plan at Radisson Blu Hotel, Lusaka, Zambia. – Pictures by DERRICK SINJELA ZCYPWD Kwilanzi Newspaper Zambia (KNZ). By Evans Sinjela
Acting Secretary to the Cabinet (ASC) Patrick Kangwa says the United Party for National Development (UPND) Alliance New Dawn Administration is keen to deliver a connected and inclusive one-language government by streamlining digital technologies across key sectors of our economy.
And speaking earlier, at a 2022- 2026 Republic of Zambia Cabinet Office E-Government Division (Smart Zambia) Validation Meeting on the Implementation of the National E-Government Plan at Radisson Blu Hotel, Lusaka, Permanent Secretary – Management Division, E-Government Division – Cabinet Office, Ms. Kusobile Kamwambi commended the E-Government Division and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning on the continued support in implementing the Zamportal (Government Service Bus) and other digital government e-services programs which are in line with the new dawn administration priorities in ensuring that no one is left behind in government service delivery.
National Co-ordinator, Electronic Government Division -Smart Zambia Institute Peter Chinyama pledged to keep the ASC and Central Government informed.
Mr. Kangwa said government is committed to ensuring that the vision of the public service in implementing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives toward e-governance is accomplished.
The Acting Secretary to the Cabinet said ICT is critical in accelerating Public Service Management (PSM) to achieve the strategic goals enshrined in the vision 2030 and the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP) seeking to achieve ‘socio-economic transformation for improved livelihoods’.
An optimistic Kangwa called for broader participation from the public and private sectors.
“The national E- government plan will form basis for providing unit of purposes in addressing multisectoral ICT programmes in the public service, private sector and across the nation. The private sector, tech start-ups and all ICT’s must engage and collaborate with government in the area of digital innovation and development research,” advised Kangwa.
Kangwa directed National Co-ordinator, Electronic Government Division -Smart Zambia Institute Peter Chinyama and peers to ensure that a mechanism for monitoring ICT implementation and performance across government ministries, provinces, other institutions and sectors is defined and put in place.
ASC said the National Electronic Government Plan being validated should provide strategy direction regarding all ICT based implementations across sectors and has encouraged the private sector participation and contribution in driving digital transformation programmes.
“Government is open and ready to partner with the private sector to support the development of home-grown digital solutions that promote job creation and socio-economic development of our country. The need for close and interactive public, private partnerships (PPP) to rise the ICT bar cannot therefore be overemphasized,” said Kangwa.
Ms. Kamwambi said that the electronic government plan should focus on a whole of government and holistic approach ensuring that all the implementation of ICT projects and initiatives are in conformity to the laid standards and regulations.
The Permament Secretary added that the plan should address the New Dawns priorities of decentralization by ensuring that all districts in the country are interconnected and have access to electronic government services.
She also said that that ICT should be an enabler of a host of opportunities for improvement and innovations in the provision of government services to the citizens.
Ms. Kamwambi said the management development division has the mandate to facilitate the attainment of optimum organisational capacities in the public service in order to achieve sustained efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of public services.
