Which one is our priority for securing a digital future for Zimbabwe?
The Honourable Speaker’s position while providing a clear, logical, and data-informed counter-argument we appreciate his efforts and submission.
Let us have a conversation on our priorities in the current Zimbabwean context which we presented yesterday:
This is a critical national conversation on our digital future. The proposition of a Google data centre is undoubtedly appealing. Building a centre of Technological Excellence that houses multiple Tech companies and a Start-up Ecosystem is also prudent, though we are calling it a Technology Park.
However, I was of the following view which I am willing to be criticised and guided on. The strategic prioritisation of a national ICT Park ecosystem currently is the foundational path to sustainable, sovereign growth and capacity for Zimbabwe. We are reaching out to every province through the Digital Centres, Innovation Hubs at Universities and Colleges. Infrastructure which we need to capacitate better. This is a decentralised system utilising and expanding the infrastructure we have.
The central question is not if we want major players like Google; that is not questionable, but when, how and on what terms.
Why are we building our own foundation, house, techno park and mini ICT Parks in the provinces and
districts?
We absolutely need at least a one hyperscale data centre, but centralisation in the current and future environment can be restrictive.
This was our plan:
1.The Foundation Before the Skyscraper: Capacity and Traffic
We need to increase our national data volumes and internet traffic . Our urgent priority should be upgrading our national backbone, specifically the Optical Fibre on Power Transmission Lines (e.g., Powertel’s network from Insukamini to Johannesburg), to peer efficiently with global giants. This builds the foundational “digital highway” we manage.
2.Generating Traffic Through Digitalization
A data centre is a response to demand, not a creator of it. We must first drive digitalization aggressively through digital payments, process automation, and e-governance to generate the significant local traffic that would make a data centre viable. Furthermore, we must incorporate Edge Computing strategies to process data closer to the source, a more efficient model for our current needs and in compliance to our Cyber and Data Protection Act which we can amend if need be.
Being a regional internet and cybersecurity hub is crucial as the Speaker alluded to me mentioning it to SADC Parliamentary Forum, this is the ultimate goal.
3.PPPs are key to lessen the burden to the fiscus and we are ready to accommodate organisations willing to assist government.
Being a regional internet and cybersecurity hub is crucial as the Speaker alluded to me mentioning it to SADC Parliamentary Forum, this is the ultimate goal.
4.Sovereignty, and the capacity to manage networks and content are not debatable and as such must not be subordinated to private players. It’s debatable and fraught with its own challenges as a principle.
A deal with a single tech giant comes with the attendant risk of ceding control of our digital ecosystem. An ICT Park strategy fosters a decentralised ecosystem that encourages FDI, CDI, and crucially, Domestic Direct Investment (DDI). It incubates startups, innovation, and local patent holding. We need to attract all the big tech giants in the world. We appreciate the gesture by Google and we are willing to engage.
By building our own adequate infrastructure first, will position us with strength, avoiding dominance and monopoly and maintaining control over our data security and economic growth.
5.Answering the Critical “Why Not Both?”
An ICT Park is the very incubator that would make a future data centre successful.
Imagine a park with:
•Startups and innovators developing local solutions.
•Laptops and devices assembled locally (e.g., by Bindura University, ZITCO) for the local market.
•Training hubs leveraging global free courses (like Google’s own) to upskill thousands.
•A vibrant administrative hub attracting international talent.
•. Easily provide services like Power, water, computational resources, applications for the use of technology e.g. Silicon Valley where Google, Oracle, Facebook, Apple etc are headquartered.
•This ecosystem generates the demand and talent that a company like Google would need to justify its investment. The data centre then becomes a logical outcome of our success, not a hopeful precursor to it.
In Conclusion: A Data-Led, Sovereign Path
Let us be informed by data and strategic foresight. The sequence matters. By focusing first on ICT Parks, digitalization, and infrastructure upgrades, we build a broad-based, resilient digital economy. This approach doesn’t close the door to Google; it ensures that when they walk through it, it is on terms that quantifiably benefit Zimbabwe, fostering an industry growth we will all be proud of.
I am committed to continue mobilising investment for this decentralised, sovereign vision across all ten provinces.
I so submit. Let us discuss
