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Postal and Courier Services
Postal and Courier Services are mainly provided by ZAMPOST. The Corporation
covers the country through a network of about 116 Post Offices, 64 Sub-Post Offices
and 55 Postal Agencies.
A large percentage of the 72 districts have an operational post office. In addition, there
are private courier services, which are concentrated along the Livingstone-Copperbelt
corridor for delivery of parcels. However, some private courier operators now service
provincial centres as well.
Telecentres
There are cafés and business bureaus offering telephone, Email/Internet access in
major urban centres and a few in rural towns. Currently, there are about 300
licensed telecenters across the country by 2004 against 108 in the year 2000.
However, a larger percentage is along the line of rail. This is mainly due to the
relatively good telecommunication infrastructure, low capital and operation costs
coupled with the high number of potential customers.
Library Services
The Ministry of Education operates the largest number of public libraries through
the Zambia Library Service. Currently, there are 6 major public libraries across the
country covering at least six of the nine provincial centres. The Copperbelt University,
Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation and UNZA have adequate libraries facilities in
comparison to other libraries across the country. Various other private libraries also
exist in schools and colleges offering opportunities for access to information. Local
authorities mainly run community libraries as part of the public service though most of them
need urgent attention.
In general, public libraries are in a dilapidated state, normally equipped with
outdated reading materials and are urban centred in most cases. Most of the materials
are imported with little local content and knowledge resources.
The process of equipping public libraries managed by the Zambia Library Service with
ICT tools including Internet connectivity has started. However, the installed capacity needs
to be increased in terms of hardware and Internet bandwidth. The main library at UNZA
has reached advanced levels in integrating ICTs as part of the services to the university
community and the general public.
On the other hand, the national Archives is one source of political, social and
economic information, particularly historical perspectives about Zambia which forms good
background on the geo-political development agenda of the country. Access to such
information by the public is very limited both in physical and electronic forms.
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