National Information and Communications Technology Policy
For the period July 2015 to March 2016 money amounting to Tanzania
Shillings 45 trillion was transacted through the mobile phone platform.
Moreover, the use of social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, YouTube and Blogs is increasing in Tanzania
just as the trend in the world is. Social media now constitute dominant forms
through which society communicates using different languages including
Kiswahili. While recognising the advantages of these social media, it is
also evident that they pose security challenges, and a lot of online content
is detrimental to national culture and poses particular threat to children.
It cannot be overemphasized, therefore, that there is need for strategies/
mechanisms to regulate against the abuses of social media. Others are the
capacity to manage ICT quality and electronic waste including availability of
frameworks to ensure electronic safety.
1.1.7
ICT at the Workplace
There is sufficient evidence that many large organizations and companies
make extensive use of networked computers with Internet access. The
workplace has been embracing the use of ICT in its daily operations. This
applies to Government, SMEs and other institutions. These organizations
have appreciated the potential of ICT in workplaces. The use of ICT in
Government institutions has improved and is coordinated following the
Government decision to establish ICT Units in MDAs and LGAs.
Besides other initiatives taken by public and private institutions, in 2013
the Government acquired the 1.55Gbps international Internet bandwidth
for Government use and provided video conferencing facilities to regional
headquarters in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar. The use of ICT in various
independent departments and authorities is high which has helped to further
improve public services delivery.
Despite these achievements, evidence suggests that smaller companies
and many institutions make marginal use of ICT in their daily operations
to enhance efficiency and increase productivity. Other challenges include
improper use of ICT at workplaces, which affects staff productivity,
cyber security, network management and spiralling cost that need special
intervention. The greatest obstacle to effective use of ICT at the workplace in
Tanzania, according to the e-Readiness Report, is the low capacity of human
capital in the use and maintenance of ICT.
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