SMART Zambia Institute National Coordinator, Percy Chinyama, has urged civil servants to take the AI Empowerment Training, saying artificial intelligence offers an opportunity for self-determination and equity. Speaking during the official opening of the training under the…

SMART Zambia Institute National Coordinator, Percy Chinyama, has urged civil servants to take the AI Empowerment Training, saying artificial intelligence offers an opportunity for self-determination and equity.

Speaking during the official opening of the training under the theme “Empowering Zambia’s AI Future: From Strategy to Practice” at Golden Peacock Hotel in Lusaka, Mr Chinyama said AI allows even those without programming knowledge to develop solutions to real problems.

“This is a shift. We are going into a new era of the world and the goodness with AI is about self-determination. “AI allows even those who have had no knowledge of programming to develop a system that will provide solutions to real problems,” he said.

Mr Chinyama said the training is aligned with the Grow Zambia Agenda, which seeks to boost production, create jobs and improve lives through sectors such as agriculture, mining and energy.

And Chinese Embassy Minister Counselor, Zhang Peilan, said AI is reshaping productivity, public administration and economic growth worldwide, adding that developing countries should not be sidelined in global AI governance.

“President Hichilema’s Grow Zambia Agenda sets ambitious productivity targets across priority sectors including agriculture, mining and energy. AI and digital tools constitute a powerful accelerator to help Zambia attain its development goals,” Mr Zhang said.

Meanwhile, Huawei Southern African Multi-Country Board Chairman,  Yang Hebin, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to Zambia through its “In Zambia, For Zambia” principle, noting that Huawei has supported national digital transformation through government cloud infrastructure, smart classrooms, AI-powered power line inspection and ICT skills training.

Mr Yang disclosed that Zambian nationals make up more than 70 per cent of Huawei’s workforce, while over 4,000 young people have benefited from its ICT training initiatives since 2017, with plans to train over 5,000 more by 2031.

“We want to nurture local AI engineers who can solve local problems. The real measure of success is whether you can improve a process, test out a new idea, or show a colleague a better way of working,” Mr Yang said.