DAR ES SALAAM: AS Tanzania prepares to harness its digital economy, key stakeholders have expressed optimism about fostering trust among systems to ensure widespread participation for the majority of the population.
Speaking recently in Dar es Salaam during the data sensitisation workshop organised by Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) Director General for the Information and Communication Technologies Commission (ICTC) Dr Nkundwe Mwasaga, said the most important thing in digital economy is trust.
“When it comes to building digital economy for any country and to be competitive, the most important thing is trust. This is so because if there is no trust, no one will use the system, or smartphones and we will never have digital economy that we expect,” said Dr Mwasaga.
He noted that for the digital economy to be effective, it must be centred on the people, ensuring they can comfortably and safely engage in economic activities using digital platforms.
Dr Mwasaga added that the government made efforts to ensure that there is trust and safety infrastructures such as PDPC to create environment that enable people to get the required benefits as envisioned.
“The digital economy, often referred to as the economy of the people, requires that individuals actively participate in economic activities using digital platforms,” he said.
Dr Mwasaga added: “Like any other countries, Tanzania has established trust infrastructure through PDPC which is committed to creating an environment where people feel comfortable engaging in the digital economy. This is essential for realising the benefits we envision.”
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He further expounded that there are significant investments that are being made to ensure that there is strong cyber security and constant transparent systems for most people to trust and participate while feeling protected.
In a significant step forward, on July last year President Samia Suluhu Hassan, during the 15th Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC) meeting in Dar es Salaam, launched the 10 years Digital Economy Strategy Framework 2024- 2034.
Among other things the framework highlighted the need for strong governance framework to support digital infrastructure including the 2024 National ICT Policy.
Furthermore, the framework highlighted on the National Electronic Data Sharing and Exchange Guidelines, Tanzania Digital Public Infrastructure Blueprint 2024 and the Tanzania Digital Compatibility and Stadardisation Framework 2024.
In another development President Samia made a cabinet reshuffle which saw the information sector being transferred from the Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology.
President Samia expressed the decision to lessen the responsibilities of that ministry so it can focus more on implementing the government’s major strategic plans, including the digital economy, including launching the satellite.
