Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa (C, front) visits the National Data Center with senior officials in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Feb. 24, 2021. Mnangagwa on Wednesday officially commissioned the National Data Center (NDC) in the capital Harare as his government aims to digitalize the public services sector and to modernize the economy. The data center was completed with assistance from the Chinese government. (Photo by Wanda/Xinhua)
HARARE, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday officially commissioned the National Data Center (NDC) in the capital Harare as his government aims to digitalize the public services sector and to modernize the economy.
The data center was completed with assistance from the Chinese government.
Mnangagwa, his two deputies Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi and other senior government officials toured the new facility, while Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun followed the procedures through a virtual platform.
Speaking at the event, Mnangagwa said the opening of the NDC is a monumental step towards modernizing the country's ICT infrastructure.
"This is indeed another great leap forward in the modernization of our public sector and economy in general," Mnangagwa said.
He said the objectives of the NDC are to create a facility for the centralization of the government's ICT operations and equipment with a view of achieving cost savings and the coordinated modernization of government business.
"The national data center of strategic national importance and its reach and impact will go a long way towards the attainment of an upper-middle-income economy by 2030," he said.
Mnangagwa said the center will provide the facilities to optimize harmonized and standardize e-government data and information management processes thereby improving public sector administration and management.
In addition to improving the security of government data, the center will also ensure that the country is not left behind in global ICT development.
"The national data center will ensure that Zimbabwe is not left behind. This is in line with our quest to build a knowledge-based society riding on today's digit world, information highways, the internet of things, and the big data economy. To this end, we envisage the ICTs to become the backbone underpinning our national development competitiveness and adaptation to the post-COVID-19 world," he said.
Furthermore, Mnangagwa said the government will continue to upscale the implementation of ICT projects to accelerate the modernization, industrialization and growth of the economy.
He said a multifaceted reform program is on course and the new data center will anchor the revamped e-government system, adding that there was a need to continue adopting a system that eliminates bureaucratic red tape and reduce the cost of doing business.
Speaking on the same occasion, Vice President Chiwenga expressed gratitude to the Chinese government for its assistance that enabled the successful and timely completion of the center.
"The establishment of the national data center could not have been achieved without the well-meaning support of our comprehensive strategic partner -- the People's Republic of China. Indeed the government of the People's Republic of China assisted us in the process of appreciating the historic development of ICTs and their customization for use by government," said Chiwenga. Enditem
