Netone Launches Makhanani Base Station

By Faith Chimutsa

In an effort to improve service delivery and increase in national mobile penetration rate , the ministry of Information Communication Technology and Courier Services (ICT) has tasked Netone to develop and implement robust network expansion growth projects in the country.

Speaking at the commissioning of the Base Station Makhanani in Chiredzi on Friday 28th of January 2022, Minister of Information Communication Technology and Courier Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere said the ministry’s thrust is to transform Zimbabwe through use of information and communication technologies into a knowledge based society so as to enhance the country’s competitiveness in the world in order to stimulate and sustain robust economic growth.

The Makhanani Base Station is expected to create an enabling environment for creation of an e-knowledge based society that transgresses across all levels of society. It will create access to the digital world for the previously unconnected areas of Chiredzi District. In addition, the Chiredzi Community Information Centre will give residents of Chiredzi a platform to access the digital information highway. The ICT Labs at the local schools will also incubate and create the next generation of ICT giants from Chiredzi District. These ICT solutions dovetail with vision 2030 as enunciated by His Excellency, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.

“Through National Development Strategy Number One (NDS 1)we expect to see Chiredzi achieving the digital economy aspirations through the ICT innovations we have today commissioned in Chiredzi District. For developing countries like Zimbabwe, ICTs are seen not only as providing new impetus for sustainable growth but are also a prerequisite to participate in the information and knowledge society”,said Hon. Dingimuzi Puti.

“As the world gravitates towards the fourth industrial revolution, innovation, information and communication technologies (ICTs), have become indispensable to our daily lives. Zimbabwe cannot achieve its development goals without investing significant financial and human capital resources in innovation and ICTs.

These investments will steer the drive towards the digital future that will transform Chiredzi into a techno hub, raising the community’s competitiveness and align it with vision 2030’s ICT goals.

“A community that does not innovate cannot stay relevant in today’s fast-changing world of big data, the internet of things, artificial intelligence, among other emerging technologies. These rapid changes in technology equally affect policymakers. The Second Republic, through Ministry of ICT, is committed to creating an enabling environment for innovation to flourish in the country by providing a forward-looking and malleable policy environment”, explained Minister Muswere.

“Zimbabwe’s future is digital, the Ministry of ICT’s campaign promises to revolutionize government services and bring connectivity to under-served communities, the Zimbabwe is Open for Business mantra, combined with world-class engineering talent, makes this country a top investment and manufacturing destination for the telecommunication and ICT sector”, Muswere added.

Meanwhile all these initiatives are empowering countless people across this nation, the Ministry, NetOne and POTRAZ are expectantly looking forward to hosting such initiatives through their efforts to expand mobile broadband connectivity and universal access. Zimbabwe will be at the forefront of the revolution bringing the benefits of mobile broadband to everyone, everywhere.