from ARNOLD MULENGA in Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia Bureau
LUSAKA, (CAJ News) – ZAMBIA is to deploy what it calls digital ambassadors to mobilise peers, and eventually citizens, to embrace the country’s electronic government (e-government) portal.
The ambassadors, who are to publicise ZamPortal, which is an initiative of the Smart Zambia Institute, have gone through an orientation programme at the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA).
Smart Zambia is the e-government division of the government.
The ambassadors, youth numbering 15 and have undergone orientation, are to lead a drive to educate and support citizens in on-boarding onto digital platforms, promote the adoption and effective use of digital technologies across communities and disseminate information on available digital services and their benefits.
“The initiative aims to empower Digital Ambassadors with the competencies necessary to access and utilize electronic government services via the Government Service Bus (ZamPortal),” said Brian Nawa, Principal Change Management Officer at Smart Zambia.
He officially opened the orientation programme on Tuesday.
The sessions at NIPA covered topics including digital literacy, e-government service delivery as well as how to effectively access services on the ZamPortal.
The ambassadors will next be assigned to train their peers on how to access and benefit from ZamPortal, which comprises over 300 e-government services.
These eventually will familiarise citizens on the portal.
The Southern African country introduced ZamPortal in 2021 as part of a digital government roadmap.
As of September 2024, the Ministry of Finance and National Planning disclosed the platform had generated K5 billion (179,6 million), via more than 3,7 million recorded transactions since inception.
– CAJ News