ZICTA

The Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) is an ICT Regulatory body responsible for regulating the ICT Sector in Zambia. It falls under the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications and derives its mandate from the three Acts, the Postal Services Act No. 22 of 2009, Electronic Communications and Transactions Act No. 21 and the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Act No. 15 of 2009 to regulate ICTs, postal and courier services in Zambia. As conferred in the ICT Act, ZICTA also referred to as “The Authority”. The Authority is overseen by a Board of the Authority consisting of nine none executive members and all decisions of the Board are executed by the Director General and is supported by an executive team with expertise in law and enforcement, economics, technical and engineering, information technology and finance. ZICTA is mandated to: 1. Regulate the provision of electronic communication services and products in Zambia 2. Monitor the performance of the sector including levels of investment and availability, quality, costs and standards of electronic communication services 3. Administer the Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) as well as electronic addresses 4. Disseminate information and promote the participation by the public in the provision of electronic communication services 5. Provide for a national frequency and numbering plan 6. Set standards for the ICT sector 7. Promote competition in the sector and also regulate tariffs charged by operators offering electronic communication services 8. Protect the rights and interests of consumers, service providers, suppliers and manufactures. In addition to the ICT ACT, the Authority was in 2009, assigned to manage and administer two (2) other pieces of legislation: Postal Services Act No. 22 of 2009 and Electronic and Communications Transactions (ECT) Act No. 21 of 2009 The Postal Services Act expanded the Authority’s mandate to cater for the regulation of Postal and Courier services. The Electronic and Communications Transactions Act on the other hand provides for: The development of a safe, secure and effective environment for the consumer, business sector and the government to conduct and use electronic communication; Promotion of legal certainty and confidence, as well as encouraging of investment and innovation, in the electronic communications industry, and Facilitation of the creation of secure communication system and networks As a regulator of ICTs, the Authority’s overall mandate is the maintenance of a delicate balance of the interests of all stakeholders in the sector.