State-owned telecommunications company, TelOne has partnered with United States of America’s technology giant Microsoft in a deal that will see the parastatal being the original equipment manufacturer of computers and other related gadgets.
The arrangement will be operationalized through the Zimbabwe Information Technology Company (ZITCO) Assembly Plant, commissioned by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Msasa, Harare today.
Addressing media, TelOne corporate communications head, Melody Harry expressed delight over the development saying the partnership will guarantee the quality of ZITCO products.
“We are delighted to advise that the partnership with Original Device Manufacturers like Microsoft and certification as an Original Equipment Manufacturer which we have managed to acquire through the mentioned partnerships is key in that it assures originality and guarantee the quality of ZITCO products,” Harry said.
ZITCO, a joint venture between TelOne, Chinese company Inspur and a government-owned entity Flushcord Enterprises, is the first-ever ICT plant in Zimbabwe and it will be involved in the assembling of desktops, laptops, tablets, prepaid electricity meters, smart water meters and other technological gadgets.
Already, the ZITCO assembly plant has completed its first run of 2500 desktop computers and laptops and it is expected to produce up to 150,000 ICT units annually.
“This production level will be supported by a staff complement of about 100 in-house with at least 300 jobs expected to be created in both upstream and downstream Industries,” Harry said.
While the development is expected to lower the cost of ICT devices through substituting local labour for foreign, it will make the devices more readily available to the general public in Zimbabwe.
