Tanyaradzwa Tizora

The Minister of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services Tatenda Mavetera has revealed that more than half of the Zimbabwean population has no access to the internet, creating a digital divide among citizens.
Mavetera was speaking during a joint commemoration of World Post Day 2023 and the 2023 International Day for Universal Access to information (IDUAI) that was held on October 23 at Madhlangove Primary School in Chivi district of Masvingo Province where she said access to information was the key enabler to the attainment of vision 2030.
She said though the country’s internet penetration rate was above half, it was still low and does not look very different from the 70percent offline in other African countries.
“As our internet penetration rate is above 50percent, almost half of the country’s population remains offline and does not look very different from more than 70 percent offline in other African countries.
“We strive to ensure that we leave no one and no place behind as we journey towards the attainment of the National Development(NDS1 and NDS2) and in particular ,the digital economy by 2030,” said Mavetera.
She said the primary barriers to access to internet is the affordability of devices and lack of awareness and alternative strategies to extend affordable access to communications are urgent.
“We simply cannot carry on doing things the way we have been doing and expect the exponential changes we require .Today we have launched the Public Finance Management System (PFMS) Kiosk at the district development in Chivi and we have also launched the Chivi Community Information Centers (CICs) at Chivi Post Office, both of which will extend affordable access to communications, among other benefits,” said Mavetera.
She went on to say as the ministry they were seized with development of ICTs to ensure access to information and internet by everyone.
“The Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, is seized with the ICT development of this country and beyond in terms of ICT governance, that is, policies and regulations; infrastructure development, to provide ubiquitous and robust access; as well as applications development; and cyber security,” said Mavetera.
Mavetera encouraged operators to collaborate so that the sector which is key to the socio-economic growth of the country continues to evolve, thus embracing new skills, new technologies and new ideas.
“I have already called for ideas that leave no one and no place behind .My door is open and I’m looking forward to engaging with every one of you as we take the Post to the next level,” she said.
Mavetera assured people that her Ministry will continue to play a crucial role in the digital transformation agenda by providing accessible and affordable ICT platforms to local communities to achieve universal access to information, therefore impacting the aspirations of NDS1.
The International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) was proclaimed by the UNESCO General Conference in 2015 following the adoption of a Resolution which declared 28 September of every year as the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) to increase awareness of the right to information.

Admire Chatindo

The situation in government and council health institutions has reached deplorable levels, with church health facilities not being spared as a case of the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ) Gutu Mission Hospital which has only one incubator in its maternity section.
The machine is crucial to save lives of infants who are born prematurely and could be a disaster if more than one infant needs the service at the same time.
There was a case of a woman who delivered premature twins babies and the Mission Hospital had to take turns to incubate them and luckily they both survived.
One can imagine the disaster if they were born from different mothers and that would definitely mean a hard time for nurses to control the issue of the incubator for each mother who would be caring for her own child.
RCZ health secretary Samuel Mhungu said the situation was not good and said they were appealing for help in that regard and many other challenges facing the referral hospital.
“We only have one incubator and if it happens that we have for example, seven mothers who deliver premature babies at the same time, we would then resort to them taking turns to incubate their babies and this endangers the lives of the infants,” said Mhungu.
He said another challenge they faced was that of water saying the taps were dry and that was not an ideal situation for a hospital.
“The other challenge that we are facing is that of water, as you can see, the taps are no longer functional and as a hospital facility it’s difficult to function without it.
“We are also having a challenge of shelter for our expecting mothers; as it stands we can house a limited number of waiting mothers in a small room and some of the conditions they are subjected to are not safe,” he said.

Beverly Bizeki

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has ordered Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube to finance innovation hubs and industrial parks in state universities to allow young people to see their inventions succeed in order to meet the developmental needs of the country.
Speaking during a tour of the Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) Innovation Hub at Robert Mugabe School of Education, Mnangagwa said the inventions were an important exercise and deserved government’s funding and support.
“The students who are producing these technological gadgets do not know how useful they are to us, in the second republic, we produce innovation hubs at every state university and this is the result of the philosophy of having innovation hubs where our talented girls and boys can exercise their dreams to produce goods and services and as you go round you will see the products being produced from fruits and herbs in our country.
“We used to think things must come from overseas but the younger generation must produce goods here and send them across the seas. In the past we used foreign currency to import these things but now it is happening locally and this is what we mean by having an innovation hub and Mthuli Ncube must fund these projects whether the fund produces goods or services they must allow our young people to dream and dream, succeed or fail but allow them to dream and produce domestic products,” said Mnangagwa.
In his keynote address, Mnangagwa also called upon the private sector and development agencies to partner with GZU in commercializing inventions.
“Similarly, I call upon the private sector and development agencies to partner with the university to accelerate the commercialization and adoption of inventions and products from our innovators.
“The application for registration of 15 trademarks in beverages, health supplements, skin products, wine and jam as well as patents for music instruments and two agro-innovations are welcome developments,” he said.
The hub was commissioned after the university’s graduation ceremony where 4899 students were capped by Mnangagwa.

…as women dominate by over 80% of Masvingo Trs enrolment

Tanyaradzwa Tizora

A shocking disparity of females’ versus male trainee teachers was revealed during Masvingo Teachers College graduation ceremony recently, where it was said women trainees were 86percent of the total enrolment.
If the statistics are anything to go by, one will be forgiven to conclude that men are shunning the once sought after profession which in the past was dominated by men.
The total enrollment statistics show that the total number of 2022-2023 students stood at 1 739, with 1 496 females (86percent) against 243 males (14percent).
The Primary school section had a total number of 1 130 students where 1 065 females (94percent) and only 65 males (6percent).
The Secondary school section had a total number of 609 students with 439 being females (71percent) and 178 males (29percent).
Commenting on the disparity in enrollment statistics, Masvingo Teachers’ College Principal Benson Mutambudzi said something needed to be done or else the teaching fraternity would be dominated by women.
“It is worrying that teachers’ colleges enrollment statistics towards female students is becoming so glaring that if nothing is done, the teaching fraternity is going to be entirely occupied by women and that should pose a national concern,” said Mutambudzi.
A total of 676 students graduated at the College with 490 females graduating from the ECD and Junior course against 26 males and 117 females graduating from the Secondary Science Teacher Education Programme (STEP) against 43 males.
Mutambudzi said despite the disparity in enrollment statistics Masvingo Teachers College has enrolled its 6th Secondary Science Teacher Education Programme (STEP) setting it apart from the four colleges given a mandate to train Secondary Science teachers in 2018.
“Out of the four colleges given a mandate to train Secondary Science teachers in 2018, no one else is on the 6th intake yet except “Gango” (the institution’s nickname).In this area we lead and others follow,”added Mutambudzi.