Windhoek
Minister of Information and Communication Technology Tjekero Tweya is calling for mass participation in the government’s drive to realise its much-trumpeted Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP).
The charismatic lawmaker addressed media practitioners during the prize-giving ceremony of the ICT Ministers Golf Day in Windhoek yesterday. Dressed in a grey suit with a matching tie, Tweya minced no words as he spoke openly about the pitfalls of various sport codes, adding that sport has the potential to address gender and race equality.
He believes sport has inevitably become a global language, while it addresses social values. He emphasised the need to quantify and monetise sports and embrace the value of this untapped gold mine of a fraternity.
In his assessment, media and broadcast houses require additional capacity to bridge the worrisome communication gap so prevalent in many areas of the country.
“In my designated functions, I’m mandated to ensure that all the country’s inhabitants – irrespective of their social standing, gender and race – have access to information and the challenge is to look into how we can fully utilise radio as an essential tool of information.
He noted that the current model of information has become irrelevant, because of the outdated notion that envisaged commitments are always deemed not economically viable.
“I would like to urge the public to use technology,” he said, but was quick to admit that government, the private sector and all other stakeholders need to invest in the upgrading of communication infrastructure.
“Everyone must have access to information, but unfortunately some people are locked out by design and do not have access to information. We’ve introduced e-procurement (electronic procurement) aimed at unlocking the untapped potential out there,” he said.
Tweya is confident that once the entire national landscape is 100 percent covered, such communication infrastructure would significantly reduce the existing budgetary constraints.
“The economic potential consists in the fact that schools and other governmental subsidiary arms or private institutions for that matter would no longer require libraries, as they will be able to access readily available information on the internet – meaning less financial and human resource pressure on the government.”