Parliament says Mnangagwa should appoint substantive Minister of Information

4. Digital services from the completed transmitter sites that have been completed have to be made available to those willing to utilise them.

5. Works on the National Data Centre have to be completed.

6. The Ministry should come up with one provider for internet services.

7. The Broadcasting Authority is a regulator and therefore Transmedia has to deal with issues of infrastructure.

8. The Ministry should be accommodated in Government premises to cut on unnecessary expenditure from the payment of rentals.

The Ministry of Information, Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services and Cyber Security plays a critical role in developing a knowledge based society with connectivity by exploiting the potential of ICT for sustainable socio-economic development. This is critical for the economic development of the country and the Ease of Doing Business. For the Ministry to achieve its objectives and targets, there is need for adequate provision of funding from Treasury. The Committee notes with appreciation the increase in terms of the allocation on maintenance and so on but there is still need to actually ensure that the demands from the Ministry are actually met.

This, however, does not cover the outstanding bills in excess of $5,3 million as at 31 December, 2017 of which $4,6 million is for TelOne which provides the public finance management systems data lines. The Committee therefore notes with concern that the funding provided by Treasury is inadequate for the Ministry to achieve its set objectives for the financial year under review. I thank you.

(609 VIEWS)