As the Minister of Information Communication Technology & Cyber Security, Honorable Supa Mandiwanzira l have found it suitable to officially address you on the public domain so that you may clarify a few issues to me and my fellow young technocrats.
Before firing my first round magazine, let me quickly highlight to you sir that l am one of the finest young technologists who dare to take a stand when it comes to the development of Zimbabwe’s ICT industry.
So, forgive me if you may find this letter too emotional because l am driven by nothing else but the passion and desire to see my country becoming a continental powerhouse in technology development and digitization of industries.
Honorable Minister, today on behalf of my generation l have decided to be remembered through expressing my total disappointment on how your Ministry of Information Communication Technology & Cyber Security is coming short when it comes to executing its mandate.
Unlike the uniformed public, l am not here to attack you on unfounded rumors of corruption because you are purely innocent and clean until proven guilty by the Zimbabwean courts of law.
So lets talk business Honorable Minister!
If l read well since the ICT space is my gong, one of your Ministry’s major mandate is to spearhead the total adoption ICTs across all sectors. This include crafting of favorable ICT Policies and taking a lead in the implementation.
But here is where your Ministry is coming short, not just your time in office but your predecessors have dismally failed as well. Sir!..Why can’t we find the Ministry of ICT & Cyber Security on popular social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter???? Honorable, do you know that having social media presence is a must for a Ministry like yours?!! Yes, because social media is part of the disruptive ICTs which fall under your ministerial regulation.
From the Webster Shamhu era which passed on to Nelson Chamisa’s reign down to you, Minister can you seriously say you do not have anyone in your communications department with mere skills of opening an official Facebook Page or Twitter Account for the Ministry??
This is a pure joke and total embarrassment of your Ministry of ICT & Cyber Security. Because you couldn’t lead the way, some other government ministries have gone ahead to embrace the paradigm shift ahead of you the designated custodians of communication technology.
Let me give you examples and see what you have to say:
The Ministry of Heath and Child Care currently under the tutelage of Dr. Parirenyatwa do own official social media accounts for their various communication purposes. Anyone who wants to engage this Ministry online can just follow them on Twitter using Ministry of HealthZW @MoHCCZim. Apparently you can also interact with the Ministry on Facebook through their official page: Ministry of Health and Child Care
So, where is your Ministry sir??
The Ministry of Tourism & Hospitality currently being headed by Hon. Prisca Mupfumira can be contacted online via their official Twitter Account: @Tourismzim and also on Facebook at Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Zimbabwe
But still l can’t find your Ministry sir??
The Ministry of Finance with all due respect Mr Minister is found on Twittwer. The recently restructured Ministry of SMEs has presence of all social media platforms.
Sir, if these other Ministries can see the relevance of social media in the day to day operations then why can’t you the chief custodians of all diversified communication technology are nowhere to be found on the platforms?? How are you engaging the digital generation then?
If your Ministry isn’t bothered by its unceremonious absence on Champions League platforms like Twitter then what on earth would keep on telling the world that Zimbabwe has a Cyber Bill currently going through a gazetting process where it is expected to curb issues of social media abuse? So how would your ministry monitor Cyber behavior on these social media platforms when your team doesn’t have the expertise to operate just one official account for such an important ministry??
For now let me stop here my Honorable Minister, l believe despite the emotions getting the better of me, l have managed to raise a very constructive argument backed by proof of how other government ministries are making use of social media to help break the jinx of information asymmetry.
Alas! Before signing off, let me also remind you that our very own President of this rising Republic – Cde ED Mnangagwa was warmly welcomed to the social media Champions League where he is now making use of Facebook and Twitter to reach out to the digital generation. In case you didn’t know, you can follow His Excellence on Twitter @PRESIDENT_ED and also like his Facebook Page Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa
Yours Sincerely
Eng. Shingie Lev Muringi
Cisco Solutions Architect/ Technology Strategist
