KUUZA NJE KWA INTANETI: NEEMA KWA WAKULIMA YAJA?

DAILY NEWS Reporter, 22nd March 2009 @ 23:01

The government is planning to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to help farmers to sell their products on-line through the Internet, in a programme that would also enable people to know the prices of various commodities. This was said by the Minister for Communications, Science and Technology, Prof Peter Msolla, during the launch of the Telecenter in Ilula, Kilolo District, Iringa Region.

The centre is being sponsored by SimbaNet, a provider of backbone connectivity in Tanzania, owning and operating satellite hubs located in Dar es Salaam and serving the country. “The development of information and communication technology in the world has brought significant changes in the connectivity of information and communication services. This connectivity has brought considerable changes in information dissemination.

“However, meaningful development in information and communication technology has been prominent in the urban areas than in the village areas, where many Tanzanians are living. Although the costs of information and communication technology is dropping by the day, the costs are still high for many Tanzanians to afford,” he noted.

He said ICT was a great catalyst for stimulating socio-economic development in the country. The government through the Ministry of Communication, Science and Technology has given this sector a high priority and enacted various policies and laws on ICT, which will enable more people to get this important service and make it stimulate development in rural areas, he added.

Mr Msolla, however, noted that communication charges in East Africa were still higher than the rest of the world and that such charges had remained unaffordable to the majority. “Despite the fact that communication costs go down everyday, still the charges are higher in this region than the rest of the world,” he noted further.

Due to this, he said, the government has vowed to give the sector a priority by reviewing various information and communication laws and policies to make the services affordable and available to the majority. He mentioned some of the laws which had been reviewed as Universal Communication Service Act of 2006 and Tanzania Communications Regulatory Act of 2003.

These policies and laws were aimed at improving the ICT services for the people who are living in villages such as telecommunication networks, Internet, computer training, facimile services, conference and workshop services, printing and photocopy.