The Lusaka City Council (LCC) and Edgy Nicollo M2TD Consortium of South Africa has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a pilot project to provide free wi-fi services in Lusaka.
During the signing ceremony held in Lusaka recently, Ministry of Local Government and Housing Permanent Secretary Amos Malupenga said the Government is happy that the project is finally taking shape.
Stakeholders in the project include, Edgy Nicollo M2TD Consortium, Zambian High Commission in South Africa and Lusaka City Council/Government of the Republic of Zambia.
Others are the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA), a
body responsible for regulating the ICT sector in Zambia, the Zambia Telecommunications Company (ZAMTEL) and the e-Goverance office.
Mr Malupenga was particularly elated that the project was expected to create an estimated 1, 500 jobs for the youths in Lusaka.
Mr Malupenga said initiatives such as the one being entered into with Nicollo Group will help in creating an enabling environment for councils to effectively and efficiently provide services to the local people, more so that it will create employment for the youths in Lusaka.
“These are the kinds of projects that we as Government always encourage councils to undertake because public-private partnerships (PPPs) help to keep councils in direct contact with the people in the communities,” Mr Malupenga.
And Lusaka Town Clerk, Alex Mwansa said he was impressed with signing of the MoU with Edgy Nicollo M2TD Consortium because of the wonderful benefits the project would bring.
Mr Mwansa said once the technical team commences with the layout of the infrastructure, the centre will start the recruitment and training of digital ambassadors who will be tasked with the responsibility of teaching locals on how to use free wifi.
“I am glad that the project is finally becoming a reality. The project will help alleviate the problem of unemployment in Lusaka in that an estimated 1, 500 jobs are expected to be created.
Upon completion of the project, cooperatives will be established and formalised among the trained candidates and later the cooperatives will be tasked with the responsibility of maintenance of the project,” Mr Mwansa said.
The Town Clerk said the Council will identify hotspot zones within Lusaka for wifi services to make it easy for members of the public to pay for the various services that the local authority provides.
Mr Mwansa said the free wifi service will also help Lusaka residents to electronically pay for various services provided by the local authority such as rates, ground rent, business, fire, marriage certificates, building plans, firearms, bill boards, liquor and public health services eg restaurant operating licences; among others.
The free wifi project was initiated by Zambian High Commissioner to South Africa, Emmanuel Mwamba and in April this year when he led a delegation of eight members from Edgy Nicollo Group for talks with officials from the Ministry of Local Government and Housing and the Lusaka City Council.
Wifi is a term for certain types of wireless local area networks (WLAN) and is widely used in businesses, agencies, schools, and homes as an alternative to a wired LAN.
Where are Up and Down cadres. Comment kaili. We know you have cooked qualifications
It is not free Internet it is only free acsses to the council website….. ati free WiFi……
yaba..of what use wil it be to comment ka pf cadre iwee..this is not your initiative
Good job Emmanuel Mwamba. As usual we expect negative comments from the under 5 party even when the project will benefit the entire community of Lusaka.
What a lie.
It is not free Internet as the crooks want you to think…it is only free acsses to the council website site , it is simply an extension of the councils WiFi……ati free wifi
This is what happens when you make a sly filthy double dealer as High commissioner…the crook spends more time in Zambia forgetting he is a civil servant.
Is this news? Just an MOU?
Why now? Fear, ka?
How can a High commission be stakeholder…this is one of sly crook Mwamba’s dirty dealings; remember the Hologram stickers scandal at Minister of Information…You mean you need a consortium to supply routers simply speak to Zamtel or a network provider.
Imwe naimwe,this dirty bogus deal will never materialise.Wi-Fi depends on support from the fixed lines.Will this South African be Installing its own data cables,routers and signals towers?Or they ll be using Zamtel’s or Zamnet’s broadband?Does anyone here understand what is needed to set a Wi-FI(Wire Fire)?Let me make u understand;IF u are Zambian,u cant just jump to America to set up your own WI-FI there,u ll use the already existing networks there and all u ve to do configure your own network design.So this South African Company is not coming to Zambia with its own wires,transmitters & receivers But instd they ll use the service providers that are already existing in Zambia.Therefore,why not give this money to Zamtel to do it?
It will be somthing to celebrate if this South African company was installing its own network directly from South Africa to Zambia.But instd they ll use the networks there of which even those networks there are more than capable of providing this Wi-FI without hard conditions unlike the one SOuth Africans will give u.Using your own existing networks.Mwamba & the entire high commision are a bunch *****s.Why give our tax money to foreigners.These are some of the projects HH is talking of giving to locals.Those kids at Zicas,CBU or Horn they can create this Wi-Fi system also for free.WHy not develop local young talent?
And finally,SOuth African will come with their own Network developers and technicians.Remember what they will build they will be the owners of the design of that network.Which means if the network loses signal or shuts down,you will then ve to call to South Africa because only them will ve the unlocking codes of which they can lock the network whenever they wished by pressing a button in South Africa.You will then ve to pay the plane tickets & hotel bills for that engineer to physically come down to Zambia.When they will decide to leave,they will leave with the design,leaving you with nothing-back to where u were before there was free Wi-Fi.So this project is clearly very much unsustainable & unreliable.
Free wi-fi is not priority for LCC. Cleanness, removal of street vendors, lighting in every street and compound and security is priority. I don’t have free wi-fi in my developed city unless if i go to a shopping mall or hotel. Wrong priorities ba LCC.
I need someone help me understand this. How will the 1,500 jobs be created from free wi fi and at whose cost?
Just wait and see….you see the jobs like lungus 500,000 created in 2015 as promised.