Staff Reporter
AS part of efforts to decentralise services to the regions, the government inaugurated the new building of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) in the Zambezi Region.
The building which cost over N$19 million to construct was inaugurated by Minister Peya Mushelenga, who stated that the ministry is working on ensuring it creates a conducive working environment for its staff across the country.
The new office is the eighth such building that has been constructed in Namibia.
The Zambezi Region was identified as the place where a state-of-the-art MICT regional office should be established to connect the people of the region to other regions, particularly in a time where the use of information technology for meetings has become a necessity.
Further, the people of the Zambezi Region will be able to access information and follow government programmes in real-time.
The Zambezi Region is prominently situated in that it borders Cuando Cubano Province of Angola on the northwest, the Western Province of Zambia on the north and the North-West District of Botswana on the east.
Mushalenga stated that this gives the region a great opportunity to form bilateral relations based on information sharing, managing and dissemination information with the sister regions across the borders.
He further noted that as part of the government decentralisation programme, the Audio-Visual and Print Media functions have been decentralised and these will serve as the core mandate of this regional office.
Among the services that the new facility will provide, are the provision of videography services, availability of a public address system, access to internet services, use of digital and broadcasting platforms, as well as a recording studio that allows for local artists to record audio and visual material.
“This new facility will also serve to enhance e-governance in rural areas, as we have the Rural ICT Centres at Sachona and Ibbu villages in this region. It is my wish that more Centres will be established in this region and this will be possible when we have the public and private sector complementing each other in the establishment and sustenance of Rural ICT Centres,” Mushilenga said.
