Opposition MP Lenora Qereqeretabua yesterday questioned the status of the one laptop per child policy.
While responding to Attorney-General and Economy Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum’s ministerial statement on expanding connectivity to the unconnected regions, she said access to the internet was critical for children as they were resorting to guided learning via Zoom because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Yet, the Government seems to have forgotten all about its one laptop per child promise that its Cabinet decision of 2012 had approved, blaming TC Winston instead,” she said.
“Now the Government has seen fit to promote VitiKart as the Vodafone middleman retail service.
“The Reserve Bank has just released guidance on VitiKart for Vodafone, because Vodafone is once again so lucky to receive $1.5 million from the Government and RBF, integrating of course with M-PAiSA, to assist micro to small businesses to set up e-commerce platforms.
“More than anything, these micro and small businesses need full internet connectivity to be able to engage regularly with similar businesses abroad to learn and set up networks.
“It can never ever be a good thing if one or two bodies hold a monopoly over mobile-related services, or hold the population captive simply because the Government owns shares in it.
“We only have to refer to the disaster of the multitude of e-ticketing rollout issues and the toll-free line 161 at the height of this second wave COVID-19 response, to be reminded of expectations versus reality.”
