By SIMON MUNTEMABA
THERE is need for Zambia to become digitally fit with an integrated financial system if the country was save huge sums of money from waste inherited expenditure, Minister of Technology and Science Minister Felix Mutati has said.
Mr Mutati said the country could save about $264 million per annum from waste inherited expenditure if it was to become digitally fit with an integrated financial system.
The minister was speaking when he closed the Mastercard, Global Travel Wallet and Government of Zambia digital workshop held in Lusaka yesterday.
He said the key driver to this digital fitness would be to have a common electronic identity for citizens to interact with various government systems.
Mr Mutati said as a result of having this common electronic identity, there would be minimised inconveniences and incidents of fraud because of the multiple numbers that are inherent and carried by citizens.
“You can’t have digital fitness unless you have a common identity for your citizens as the number one condition. It is a key perimeter for fitness and it also allows the various systems to operate in an integrated manner,” Mr Mutati said.
He said at the moment, the systems were operated in a fragmented manner because they could not communicate the same person across the systems and as a result, huge data has to be moved from one system to the next, thereby leading to losses.
He said key to the ministry’s digital strategy was optimisation and integration of digital infrastructure as well as having internet as an essential commodity which is a necessity to influence digital entrepreneurship.
Mr Mutati also said to reduce compromise of the total revenue the country required, there was need to have an integrated system that promoted revenue integrity using the common identity which would minimise abuse of government systems and eliminate redundancy.
Meanwhile, Mastercard Government Engagement vice president Cuthbert Tembedza said the company was prepared to bring the necessary skills transfer and put its investment to support Zambia’s digitisation programme.
Mr Tembedza said the company was also committed to use its experience and global exposure to support the government to ensure that whatever the company brings speaks to the needs of the country through the partnerships.
Mastercard is a global pioneer in payment innovation and technology.
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