Chamber Of Mines Of Zimbabwe Prioritising Use Of ICTs
The Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CoMZ) president Ms Elizabeth Nerwande is prioritizing the upgrade of the Chamber’s resource centre so that information becomes available to its membership in real-time.
Contacted for comment following her re-election on May 28, 2020, Ms Nerwande said as part of her agenda during her second and final term as president, her team is working towards the transformation of the Chamber into an institution that offers real, tangible benefits to its members and to broaden its revenue base.
She said in due course the Chamber must operate an up-to-date resource centre that eliminates the “black box” mentality where information becomes available after a crash, adding that members must be able to access information at the click of a button.
“While we continue to pursue our issues of lobbying and engaging on the ease of doing business, bearing in mind the industry’s state-objective of attaining a US$12 billion sector by 2023, top on my agenda in this second era is to place the Chamber as a leader of Information.
“Given this new normal occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic where we all must observe social distancing measures, 80 percent of our work is now running through use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). Our role in relaying information as well as being a point of reference on mining matters has also become more urgent. We are therefore in the process of enhancing our capacity to have updated information. We are working on upgrading our resource centre,” said Ms Nerwande.
Indeed, there is increasing realisation across the globe that in a fast-paced, dynamic operating environment, the availability of information in real-time makes decision-making much easier.
Focus in most advanced economies has thus been on ensuring the availability of quality information that is relevant to the needs of its users.
In that regard, the Chamber is taking a defining step in upgrading its resource centre to serve as the central information and data domain not only for its membership but also for other stakeholders who can access the facility within specified limitations.
Traditionally, a library has been seen as a central point for the storage of information in hard copy, where students, researchers, among other users, go to find relevant information in their respective subjects. But since the dawning of the digital age, the importance of a library has been transformed in its utility and role due to the Internet and Internet products accessible to staff.
In the case of the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, its leadership is desirous of ensuring that speed and efficiency come together as they get down to providing information on mining to their membership.
Asked to comment on the government’s vision to attain a US$12 billion mining sector by 2023, Ms Nerwande said they remain coordinated and organised to ensure its attainment.
“Such a goal can only be realised when all stakeholders address the perennial constraints on the ease of doing business with a unity of purpose,” she remarked.
“There is need to speedily conclude the development of a consolidated fiscal regime for the ease of doing business,” she added. Zimeye