By A Correspondent- ICT and Courier Services minister Jenfan Muswere yesterday said the government was putting up measures for people to apply for identification documents online.

Speaking at the launch of St Theresa-Bvekerwa communication information centre in Makoni, Muswere said: “Government is putting in place measures to make it possible for members of the public to apply for identification documents such as passports, national identity cards and birth certificates from the comfort of their homes.”

Most Zimbabweans have been struggling to secure identity documents during the COVID-19 national lockdown where most offices were closed. The minister did not explain how the system would work in rural areas where the majority are not techno savvy and digitally connected.

Muswere added: “This is also being coupled with efforts to turn our post offices into centres offering e-commerce, digital government and digital finance services as a way of making the services available within the proximity for those who do not have the necessary means for them to transact from homes.”

“I want to urge the local community of Bvekerwa and surrounding areas to make full use of the facilities we are commissioning today to uplift our lives.”

He said the government has identified ICTs as one of the pillars and cornerstones for the attainment of the objectives of the National Development Strategy blueprint which was launched by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last year.

Speaking at the same event, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe director-general Gift Machengete said community information centres could be used as marketing tools for rural tourism.

“Tourism operators in rural areas and remote areas have a difficult time marketing their destinations through traditional media due to production costs, so CIC can be used as marketing tools to promote rural tourism and market the products of downstream industries, including home-based industries,” he said.-newsday