The Covid-19 pandemic seems to be a blessing in disguise for Botswana’s communications sector which has witnessed a boom as most citizens resorted to telecommuting.
This emerged during a recent parliamentary briefing by the Minister of Transport and Communications Thulagano Segokgo .
He said mobile telephone subscriptions witnessed a 1.2% increase between December 2020 and March 2021.
The uptake of fixed broadband Internet increased by 6.9% in the same period while that of mobile broadband Internet, which already has over three and half million subscriptions increased by 1.5%. This was as result of remote working and electronic learning that was adopted and adapted to continue business.
“The use of ICTs during the Covid-19 pandemic has proved to be valuable and cost effective. The prospects indicate that going forward Botswana should integrate the new way of working and learning remotely away from offices that come at a cost to construct and maintain. This will divert scarce resources to other essential strategic interventions,” said Segokgo.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications is looking at how to stimulate SMMEs in the ICT and service industry taking advantage of the power of ICTs. The direct contribution of SMMEs when fostered, will positively impact on the economy, and we intend to pursue this in this current financial year and going forward. There has been a modest increase in licensing activities across the sectors with a more robust increase for Service and Application Provider licences. This trend is attributed to increased appetite for online services during this trying era of the COVID-19 pandemic, as more business are forced to service customers remotely.
“The process of digitization of Government services has commenced in earnest. A thorough business process reengineering is underway for identified priority services with high customer volumes. To enhance user experience, Government has made concerted efforts to integrate key dependencies for online services, namely; Omang, Land, Records and online payment platforms, in this planning period,” said the minister.
“In addition to the preceding platforms, eight (8) services were launched in March 2021 as a stepping stone for more complex and integrated services. Citizens have started utilizing these channels in numbers. Associated to service provision, communication and change management activities to support back office strengthening is taking place,” said Segokgo.
It is planned that at the end of this financial year, a minimum of twenty-five (25) high-volume customer services will be available online to the populace. Government commits to ensuring that all these online services are developed with customer experience in mind, and that Government will ensure that online services become the norm to improve access to Government services for all citizens.
BotswanaPost had increased its service bouquet with a network ,PosoMoney. The service has accrued a steady subscriber base nearing one hundred thousand (100,000) people with the majority in rural areas. BotswanaPost has also increased services on this platform to facilitate compliance to Covid-19 protocols.
The Post Office has also modernised its PostBox offering with a new product, VirtualPost. This is a service that allows customers to register their mobile phone numbers to be used as their designated PostBox. The service will allow access of postal boxes to a youthful audience that has previously struggled to attain their own boxes for personal or business use. The service signifies BotswanaPost stance to enhance its core business making it more appealing. The service has value added benefits such as SMS notification, mail redirection and local flexibility that will enhance customer service.
BotswanaPost through its diversified service offering will be rolling out Virtual Teller Machines. The machines are self-service points that are interactive, smart and will offer postal services 24/7. To increase its participation in the banking spectrum, BotswanaPost will commence the issuing of cards with ATM functionality. These cards will benefit social protection services recipients offering affordable and convenient access to funds. Key functionality poised for the card includes mobile wallet integration.
