Vice President hypes digital technology for speedy development
Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan has reaffirmed the government’s endless support to Oxfam and other like-minded stakeholders advocating the use of digital technology to drive development in the country.
In a speech read on her behalf by Minister for Works, Transport and Communications Engineer Isack Kamwelwe, the VP said the digitisation programme that Oxfam has executed in four districts of Kibondo (Kigoma), Mbogwe (Geita), Ngorongoro (Arusha) and Mtwara Rural (Mtwara) had intensified collaboration between local leaders and their citizens.
Engineer Kamwelwe was officiating a two-day summit to discuss the achievement and progress made by the project that was carried out in rural areas to support the government’s initiatives for sustainable development. Oxfam is an international confederation of 20 Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working with partners in over 90 countries to end injustices that cause poverty.
Oxfam in Tanzania in collaboration with Oxfam- Solidarite (Belgium) designed and implemented the two-year ‘Enabling Improved Governance and Accountability in Tanzania through Digital Technology’ project, in collaboration with Tanzanian civil society organisations.
The project sought to address the current deficit in community driven governance reform and link the efforts to policy change and strengthened accountability at national level.
According to Oxfam Country Director, Francis Odokorach, the project builds on Oxfam’s flagship governance programme—Chukua Hatua—bringing in innovative use of digital technology.
“Oxfam believes that digital (information and communications) technology is an enabler of solutions to development and human rights challenges, if appropriately implemented,” he said.
The project targeted 200 animators and was implemented in four districts of four regions. It also targeted 50 bloggers and social media influencers, empowering a network of community animators – village level organisers or facilitators who mobilise or ‘animate’ communities around a common advocacy agenda – through provision, training and support of a range of digital tools.
In his speech before delegates who attended the twoday summit here yesterday, Oxfam Country Director underscored the need for use of digital technology as a platform to drive the country’s sustainable development.
At the meeting, various participants from rural areas of the four districts where the project took place had an ample time to air their voices from the communities that benefited from the use of digital technology to get rid of poverty.
“Oxfam’s policy is all inclusive and it is in line with Tanzania’s policy to engage all stakeholders in driving the development agenda, that is why we ensured that in all the communities where the project was implemented, people were getting all tools that the government has put in place in bringing development to their respective areas,’’ he said.