Technology is moving at breakneck speed. What might have been a great tool yesterday might wake up obsolete today and of no use at all. As such, local authorities have been urged to digitize their systems for the ease of communication and doing business with their clients.

Speaking during a Zimbabwe Christian Alliance, Local Advocacy Champions (LAC) exchange visit in Masvingo, the acting Nkayi Rural District Council CEO, Mr. Lawrence Mudimba said it was crucial for councils to adapt to the new systems that have come up with digitalization for the ease of doing business. 

“We are living in a digital era where many services are now being done online with less paperwork being done on a day to day working environment,” he said. 

 Mr. Mudimba said their council was working on migrating to the use of the internet so that their services are not only available to the people in their locality but to those who are Nkayi residents that are out of the country. 

“We have residents of Nkayi who are based in the diaspora and wish to contribute towards the development of their communities but do not have ways to reach out. This will not only help us reach out for financial contributions, but it will also help showcase the work that we are doing as a local authority,” he said. 

He mentioned that there are some social media networks that can be used to the advantage of the council as there are benefits that come with it. He said channels such YouTube that have rewards which are lucrative and encourage you to do more work. 

“I understand that when you have a YouTube channel, and you reach a certain target you are rewarded. We are also looking at that route not only to get rewards but to effectively reach out to the community,” he said. 

The Zimbabwe Christian Alliance board member, Mrs. Susan Moyo said she was happy to hear that local authorities are also looking into digitalization which is in compliance with the education sector. 

“Being a teacher myself, I am encouraged when I see that it is not only us who are looking into a future that is digitalized. Technology is fast overtaking everything in the world hence the need for us as a country to adapt to the new ways of doing things,” said Mrs. Moyo. 

In Zimbabwe, some rural areas are still outside the digital grid. This has made those rural areas to leg behind technologically. 

Last year, there were 6.95 billion mobile users worldwide according to Statista. It estimates that it will hit over 7 billion users by the end of the year. Worldwide consumers have considerably moved toward online channels and Zimbabwe Rural District Councils should follow suit.