Well, this seems paranoid. But maybe it’s just me.
Zimbabwe has still not unbanned the use of the Blackberry Messenger (BBM) application and related services in the country. Amidst pressure to do so, a senior government official said that Harare was “still weighing the advantages and disadvantages of enabling the application”.
BBM, which has gained worldwide recognition for its high level encryption technology for messages, is a safe and secure instant messaging app run for Blackberry cellphones, and recently other platforms. But Cosmas Chigwamba, the principal director in the Zimbabwean Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, has maintained that it is “difficult” to determine when the service could be allowed to operate in the country.
“This one is difficult for me to answer. We are making our own assessments to find out the advantages and disadvantages of allowing the technology,” said Chigwamba, said last month. They still haven’t finished assessing, I suppose.
Zimbabwe is creating a new ICT policy that is supposed to help improve growth in the sector. This country wants to roll out e-government and governance programmes, but they put a pin in BBM? I wonder what they think will happen if they approve the use.
