The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) has expanded the operations of the Government Information Centre (GIC) with new equipment procured for the Zambezi Region.

The Deputy Director for Audiovisual Media and Regional Offices, Reagan Malumo, said the decision to decentralise the GIC was to give a platform to all regions so they could communicate effectively and provide the required information to residents.

"Our approach is that we want to add the regional leadership to take a proactive posture in terms of information dissemination. Information is power, and because of that, we don't want people to blame the government for not providing services when we know that we are doing so. If we don't communicate, people will think we are doing nothing."

Malumo said that the fully equipped studio will now enable the regional office to entirely function on its own without requiring assistance from other regional offices in terms of equipment.

The Director of Planning, Monitoring and Rural Development at the Zambezi Regional Council, Beaven Walubita, said the platform comes at a time when it is highly required.

"This is a region that is prone to disasters. Just now, we have just come out of the outbreak of locusts and worms affecting the agricultural sector. While we were there, there was an outbreak of malaria, and we are still battling with that. The team is out in the field, battling, spraying, distributing mosquito nets, and now dealing with the floods. This is information the public needs to know."

More equipment has been procured, while production at the centre is expected to commence next week.

The heads of all institutions and directorates are encouraged to use the center for information dissemination.