Reported by: The Agency Media.
Date: 6th May, 2025.
Chilanga, Lusaka Province, Zambia.
The Government of Zambia has taken a strategic step towards modernizing public administration with the launch of the SMART Office Customisation Workshop in Chilanga District, marking a key milestone in the nation’s transition to paperless governance.
During the opening ceremony, Mr. Percy Chinyama, National Coordinator of SMART Zambia, underscored the initiative’s alignment with national digital transformation goals. He noted that the implementation of SMART Office solutions is projected to save the government nearly K400 million annually in stationery and document handling costs.
“Technology is no longer a luxury it is a necessity for efficiency, competitiveness, and connectedness in public service,” Mr. Chinyama remarked. He emphasized that the transition to digital systems requires more than infrastructure it demands a shift in institutional culture and mindset. “The most significant challenge will be change management. We must re-engineer how we think and work in order to fully leverage modern digital tools,” he stated.
Project Manager Ms. Annie Daka reaffirmed the government’s consultative approach, revealing that stakeholders from various ministries had actively contributed to the customisation of the SMART Office platform. These contributions reflect a collective readiness to implement the solution across institutions.
The SMART Office initiative is designed to:
- Improve operational efficiency and public service delivery
- Significantly reduce expenditure on paper based processes
- Eliminate issues such as lost documents and misfiled records
- Strengthen transparency and institutional accountability
According to the 2025 Budget Yellow Book, government spending on paper acquisition alone currently stands at Three Hundred Sixty Nine Million, Thirty Six Thousand Five Hundred Seventy Six Kwacha
K369,036,576. The cost saving potential of the SMART Office solution, combined with its long term efficiency gains, signals a paradigm shift in how government services will be delivered going forward.
The Agency.