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Mthabisi Tshuma, Business Online Reporter

BULILIMA District in Matabeleland South province is set to host this year’s national commemorations of the belated World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.

The event to be held at Masendu Cultural Centre tomorrow (Friday), will be held under the theme: “Empowering the least developed countries through information and communication technologies”.

The World Telecommunication Celebrations are an annual event held every May 17 following the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention (ICT) and the creation of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a United Nations Union specialised agency in 1969.

In an interview with Business Chronicle, Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Deputy Minister, Cde Dingumuzi Phuthi, said the hosting the event in Bulilima was in ling with President Mnangagwa’s philosophy of doing away with the “bambazonke” mentality.

“It’s generally exciting to see services by the Government  and mulltilaterals spreading to rural areas, growth points, towns, and basically places outside big cities.

“This is coping the style by President Mnangagwa when we saw him take the Independence celebrations outside Harare for the first time to Bulawayo and this year to Mt Darwin. This made those people feel a significant part of Zimbabwe,” said Cde Phuti.

The Zanu PF Bulilima Constituency legislator and also 2023 harmonised elections national assembly representative said the hosting of the event in a remote area shows that their ministry, led by Dr Jenfan Muswere, will continue to ensure the digital gap is addressed between urban and rural areas.

“In this case this important day of ICT being hosted in Bulilima means that people of Bulilima, the peripheries of this country will for the first time find themselves very important and an integral component of this nation,” he said.

“This is a good way of nation-building. It also means a lot in the ICT sector in that ICTs know no place and no boundaries. The underserved or unserved places are worthy of attention and being hosted by Masendu a mere rural village means a lot in terms of the rural drive.

“There will also be a launch of a community information centre, which means that kind of service will be accessed that community for the first time and it’s the only one in the country that will be a launch of a pilot programme, which shows the success of the Second Republic as we follow in the right direction by President Mnangagwa,” said Cde Phuthi.

 -@mthabisi_mthire