Download
The 2022 National Information and Communication Technology Policy has been anchored on the Vision 2030 which espouses the transformation of Zambia into a prosperous middle-income country. It expresses the renewed commitment of the Zambian government with respect to the development of the Information and Communication Technology sector and leveraging its benefits to revolutionise key sectors of the economy. The Policy provides strategic guidance on how the development of the sector will be coordinated while ensuring that it remains inclusive, efficient, and competitive. Implementation of this Policy has the potential to meaningfully drive Zambia towards achieving the goal set out in the Vision 2030 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The ICT sector can enable increased productivity, efficiency, and improve service provision across key sectors of the economy such as health, education, transportation, energy, and agriculture, among others.
While Zambia’s ICT sector has grown over the last decade, its performance can be enhanced greatly by a more deliberate and coordinated approach to its development. The 2018 ICT Survey commissioned by the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA highlights part of the situation that this Policy seeks to address. For instance, the survey finds that only 32.9 percent of the Zambian population accesses electricity through a utility company, with the situation being particularly bleak in rural areas with only 6 percent having access. Additionally, at a skills-level, only 6.8 percent of the population reported having adequate skills to use a computer. This Policy establishes an overarching direction to address some of these realities, and simultaneously reap the benefits of a well-developed, inclusive, and competitive ICT sector. The Policy is designed to provide a holistic approach for Government to offer strategic guidance and coordinate developments in the ICT sector, as well as harness the sector’s potential to disrupt and transform other key sectors.
Zambia’s first ICT Policy (2006), recognized the contribution the sector can make in reducing the developmental divide, and ensuring equitable access to key products and services for all citizens. This policy centered around the following themes; enhancing capacity of citizens in ICTs, building an effective and responsive regulatory and policy framework, establishing an efficient ICT sector, and streamlining ICT in all sectors of the economy. This Policy builds on the initiatives outlined in the 2006 iteration, while encompassing technologies and ICT trends that have emerged over the last decade. An analysis of the ICT sector in 2017 revealed significant gaps limiting the potential of the sector’s development, despite its prominence in both the 6th and the 7th National Development Plan. The 7NDP in particular makes mention of an enhanced ICT sector as a development outcome under the strategic area of economic diversification and job creation.
Zambia has also signaled its commitment to technological advancement and regional integration through its participation in international fora. Zambia is a member state of the International Telecommunication Union and has participated in the Regional Standardization Forum for Africa. Zambia has also signed onto a handful of conventions and guidelines stemming from the ITU, such as the Guidelines on Child Online Protection which have since been localized under the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority. This Policy does not deviate from Zambia’s global and regional contribution to the ICT sector, but rather incorporates global practices while maintaining national relevance.