Africa-Press – Namibia. Telecom Namibia (TN) wants to rebuild and strengthen its working relationship with government ministries to better support their communication needs.
TN CEO Stanley Shanapinda said this on Thursday during a two day workshop in Swakopmund, where the company met with various government representatives to discuss ways to improve public sector connectivity.
He said Telecom Namibia wants to reset and strengthen its ties with its key stakeholder – government – and work together on modern, reliable and affordable communication solutions.
“As Telecom Namibia, we want to reach out to our key stakeholder. We want to reset our relationship and how we provide services to government. Hence, we are here to co-create solutions to government’s telecommunications needs,” he said.
He explained that many ministries are currently operating with limited bandwidth, while the demand for internet services has increased significantly.
“Some of the capacity that government ministries have is smaller than the actual need. We are looking at how we can upgrade and modernise some of the systems ministries are using. This will allow them to make full use of the services available to them,” Shanapinda said.
He added that government already has dedicated capacity on the West Africa Cable System, but the resource is not being fully used.
“That facility is currently underutilised. We want to speak to the Office of the Prime Minister to see how all government ministries’ traffic can be routed on this network, which can also help save costs in terms of internet services,” he said.
Outdated technology, especially in rural areas, also remains one of the biggest challenges.
“Agencies in rural areas still rely on outdated technologies such as WiMAX. We need to roll out modern infrastructure such as fibre. We know it is costly, but if we work together, we can find cost-effective solutions to ensure reliable connectivity,” Shanapinda said.
He noted that better connectivity to regional offices will also support services such as clinics, hospitals and police stations, which will in turn benefit communities.
“It’s a win-win if Telecom Namibia and government work together. When we provide these services to government, government is able to provide digital services to citizens. Communities around regional offices can also benefit indirectly,” he said.
Shanapinda acknowledged past service challenges and assured that Telecom Namibia is committed to improving service delivery.
“We take accountability for some of the service disruptions. This is an opportunity for us to co-create solutions. We thank government for its continued support,” he said.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
