THE days of playing the role of the Marvel-based comic character ‘Spiderman’ to climb mountains and trees in order to access network in Katiula Village of Katete District, will now be a tale of the past following the commissioning of the communication network tower by Science and Technology Minister Felix Mutati yesterday.
Residents were utilizing their power and strength to further climb mountains and trees in order to connect to the rest of the country.
Addressing the people at Katiula Day Secondary School, Mutati said people in rural Zambia deserve a connected life regardless of where they live and the newly commissioned solar powered communication tower is a sign that digital exclusion will no longer be entertained.
The Minister said the people of Katiula had waited too long for connectivity and deserved the same digital opportunities enjoyed by citizens in urban areas.
“Everybody deserves a connected life, regardless of where they are,” Mutati said.
“Now children here in Katiula can have computers and play like any kid across Zambia. Location is not important. Distance is not important. Every child needs an equal opportunity.”
And Chieftainess Kawaza speaking through a representative, thanked Government and asked for more developmental projects in the area.
The traditional leader expressed happiness by thanking the UPND government for contributing a communication tower that would help them communicate with their leaders.
“We are happy to have this network tower. We used to have a lot of challenges on the network. We only used to have network on hill mountains. And at times we used to get on trees when making calls. Now that the network has come, we will be able to communicate with our friends and relatives,” Chieftainess Kawaza said.
The launched communication tower will allow mobile phone network access to MTN network on 4G and will service over 10,000 people within a 10-kilometre radius.
The tower is part of the 51-communication-tower project.
This year, government planned to erect 80 new towers nationwide, a bold step toward closing the digital divide.
By George Musonda in Katete
Kalemba February 23, 2025
