PRESIDENT HICHILEMA EXPECTED IN ZIMBABWE FOR THE TRANSFORM AFRICA SUMMIT
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema is expected in Victoria Falls town of Zimbabwe to attend the Transform Africa summit.
The summit which is set to officially open tomorrow, April 26, 2023, at the Elephant Hill Resort in Victoria will be held under the theme “connect, innovate, transform”.
Minister of Technology and Science Felix Mutati who is also attending the summit confirmed the participation of President Hichilema to ZANIS today.
Mr. Mutati said the summit will be focused on discussing practical ways to advance commitment of transforming Africa, into a fully digitized economy where technology is harnessed to fully reap the benefits of integration.
Mr. Mutati explained that the Head of State is a champion of transformation and that he is passionate about digital transformation hence his presence at the summit.
Meanwhile, Smart Africa Executive Director Lacina Kone said the summit which will be hosted by Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa will bring together Heads of State and Governments, First Ladies, Ministers of Information Communication and Technology among others.
Mr. Kone added that others expected to attend the summit include Top executives of Information Technology and Telecommunications companies, women and girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) young entrepreneurs as well as academicians.
And Assistant Secretary General and Special Advisor for the United Nations Envoy on Technology Fayaz King called on the need to connect schools to the internet if nations are to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) on education.
Mr. King noted that during the Pandemic period, about 2.3 million children were not in school, and only relied on the internet, hence the need for digital connectivity in schools is vital.
He further praised Zambia for participating in connecting Schools to the internet programme.