The Electronic-Government Division under Smart Zambia says Zambia’s push towards digital transformation has taken a major leap, with all 116 local authorities in the country now connected to the government area wide network.
Smart Zambia Director Infrastructure Management, Paison Chikoye, says the Electronic Government Division has made a lot of progress in ensuring that every citizen can easily access government services.
Mr Chikoye was speaking on a special programme on ZANIS TV dubbed ‘Zambia’s Digital Infrastructure.’
He said Smart Zambia has in the last two years connected all local authorities, district administration offices, government agencies, health facilities and selected education centers to the government network.
“When you look at our mandate, we are basically building the road that gets citizens to access government services online, but before you see the soft services, the hard infrastructure has to be in place,” said Mr Chikoye.
He explained that the country is working in collaboration with SpaceX to deploy Starlink internet services in remote communities through the Zambia Postal Services.
“We procured over 500 Starlink kits in 2023, and these have been deployed to 109 post offices and youth resource centers countrywide. Even in places like Lunga, where one has to travel by boat for hours, people can now access digital services,” Mr Chikoye explained.
He observed that the impact of the Government digitisation programme is already bearing fruit in health and civil registration services.
Mr Chikoye added that patients under the Smart Care programme are no longer carrying bulky files, as their records are instantly available through biometric identification.
“For families in rural Zambia, something as basic as a birth certificate was just a dream for many, but today, it can be printed right at the local district office,” he noted.
Mr Chikoye further noted that the Vision 2030 agenda envisions a digitally inclusive Zambia, where rural and urban citizens can share equal access to government services.
He, however, noted that training the population on how to use digital tools will be key to avoiding “white elephants” in digital infrastructure investment.
“Our appeal is that citizens should embrace this agenda, because it is only when they do so that these digital services can truly make an impact,” he stated.
Zambia will showcase strides made in the digitisation programme at the upcoming Digital Africa 2025 Ministerial Summit in Lusaka scheduled for 7th to 9th October, 2025.
With over 20 African countries attending, the summit is focused on strengthening partnerships, bridging the digital divide and accelerating Africa’s digital integration.
