Staff Reporter

The Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa yesterday said that the Second Republic continues to push forward in bridging the gender digital divide which has seen more women and girls being included in the economy and society.

Speaking yesterday at a high-level breakfast meeting hosted by an international development organisation, HIVOS in Harare to celebrate women’s month, Minister Mutsvangwa said the Second Republic was on the right path as it moved to achieve Vision 2030 of an empowered upper middle income economy.

“I wish to applaud the strides made by the Second Republic in bridging the gender digital divide although more needs to be done. The Chinese say “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step” and as Zimbabwe, I believe we are on the right trajectory, as we head towards achieving the 2030 Agenda and Vision of an Upper Middle-Income Economy by 2030 by leaving no one and no place behind.

“This is critical as the success of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) is dependent on digital technology access and use. With the current Education 5.0 initiative under the Second Republic, it is envisaged that as institutions develop more innovations, Zimbabwe will be able to manufacture its own gadgets which will be affordable to the ordinary Zimbabwean to engage with digital technology,” she noted.

Additionally, the Minister said that the Government had also enhanced access to digital technology in communities through the establishment of Communication Information Centre rural areas which saw over 11000 citizens in rural areas trained on digital literacy and these included women and girls and also urban centres.

Meanwhile, Minister Mutsvangwa added that various stakeholders who included private sector, NGOs and CSOs, should come on board to complement Government efforts in bridging the digital gender divide.