By ALICE NACHILEMBE
Technology and Science Minister Felix Mutati has revealed that the third quarter of 2021 mobile money transactions amongst various service providers recorded a total of K210 million.
Mr Mutati has also indicated that the value of money that circulated on under the same period was in excess of K45 billion which implies that on an annual basis, this is greater than the GDP the Ministry of Finance has been proud of.
He said it therefore, remains the new dawn’s resolve according to its strategic direction that must be followed anchored on five pillars to transform the Zambian economy into a digital economy.
Mr Mutati said government seeks to construct digital platforms in order to receive payments where at some point, it will no longer accept cash transactions for all payments.
He said the Ministry has been taking stock and repositioning itself to be at the centre of economic transformation by ensuring that profit is realized from technologies.
Mr Mutati said the new dawn administration has been engaging different sector players to create sustainable partnerships and will continue to leverage on technology with the aim of introducing robust mechanisms centred on ordinary citizens.
The minister was speaking last evening in Lusaka when he officiated the first MTN MOMO Stars 2021 event, where the mobile telecommunication company celebrated its outstanding distributors, sales agents and merchants.
Mr Mutati said mobile money has transformed banking, payment systems and created job opportunities for a lot of the Zambians while creating opportunities for those involved in the of applications.
Meanwhile, MTN Zambia Mobile Money Managing Director Komba Malukutila said for the first time, the company feels extremely supported by the Government.
Mr Malukutila said with MTN subscribers now standing at over 5.5 million and over 70,000 actively transacting mobile money agents, the mobile telecommunication company plans to be Africa’s largest e-commerce provider.
And MTN Zambia Chief Executive Officer Bart Hofler with the coming in of the new dawn government, there is now great potential to grow further the subscriber base especially with the trust gained in the economy.
