Embarrassment: Zim’s New ICT Minister Being Interviewed About AI

On Friday when I saw that the former Deputy Minister of ICT, Jenfan Muswere had been promoted to become ICT Minister my heart sank. I sat through two speeches by the guy when he was still deputy minister and I was left wondering why he had this position. One of those speeches was a vote of thanks mind you!

His promotion to head up this crucial ministry clearly tells that President ED doesn’t know the importance of technology or that he doesn’t care or both. Muswere should not be anywhere near his position.

Here is a video of Muswere being interviewed about AI at the AI for Good Conference in Geneva. It will make you look for a rock to crawl under… What did we ever do to deserve this?

Why on earth was this guy at this conference? Why was he making speeches? Why was he giving interviews?

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  1. sensei

    ndaita hasha!!!

  2. Farai Mudzingwa

    Ah! Wow… Haa this is sad

  3. sean

    Eeew this guy is not worth to b anywhere close to to be in the government aiwa aiwa aiwa aiwa t

    1. Sugar Dick Dupree

      I think he thinks AI is all about Artificial Insemination.

  4. Chimdara

    And so forth kkkk. He is speaking like he was was answering ZJC questions

  5. Grand Mutondo

    Well I don’t see where the minister failed in this interview. Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines to fight human problems like hunger and food shortage. Exactly what he said at policy level. There is different knowledge requirement at expert and policy level

    1. Tinashe Nyahasha

      Oh yes policy has to be somewhat generic but what did the minister say though? Tell me what policy he mentioned. This is particularly disturbing because these were not ambush questions: he was at an AI conference, he had given a speech at said conference. He should have been prepared for those simple questions

      1. Chips

        Problem is these people are just being given these positions when they are out of depth regarding the field. Are there no ICT fundis who could be deputy ministers in Zim to articulate those issues properly. We are trying to sell this and all we can say is “Zimbabwe is open for business”, is that it?

    2. David

      Me too, I guess he’s not a scholar in these things why should he be asked questions like a student.

      Definitions, really?

      1. Tonderai

        I disagree with you there. If you listen carefully to the interviewers questions, his flow was to establish what AI means to Zimbabwe and what government policy on it would harness its advantages for development. He actually had to regress back to definitions so he could then get to a baseline understanding level – which didn’t exist – so the interview ended. The Deputy Minister (now Minister) had given (read) a speech at the conference so there was hope that he knew the subject matter.

    3. Me Here

      He was being generic, almost as if he didnt know what AI is and he’s just throwing broad responses

    4. Farai Mudzingwa

      He failed to answer all the questions… From the 1st one he was asked about AI he talked about ICT. Jenfan is this you commenting in disguise? Lol

    5. Ham

      Iwe, this guys level of knowledge ends at knowing the that AI stands for Artificial Inteligence period. I was actually worried he had no idea what that was. As the person leading the country in this space he should be at an expert level or atleast be able to articulate what Zim is doing about AI and what we are looking to gain from its use to better our policies and econony etc.

    6. Mambo

      He had been told before the interview that AI refers to artificial insemination and so was caught, so to speak, off guard!

  6. Aurther

    Oh no!

  7. Loreen

    ……………. and so forth.

  8. beatrice simango

    ummmmmm, me can’t

  9. Disturbed Man

    Werner Herzog : I felt despair so terrible that I briefly consider slitting my own wrists, or bludgeoning myself about the head with a steel pipe or baseball bat. But I brought no blade, no pipe, no bat.

    1. Mkoma Fagio

      That was not the best but for a newly appointed deputy minister.The measure of intelligence is not articulating and saying more jargon.Well tried my bro .

  10. Hb

    After listerning to e video. I see nothing bad abt the interview. He was himself and he said e benefits of AI regarding to Zim. The editor pliz be nutral & let the audience judge.

    1. Anonymous

      Did we watch the same interview they asked about AI laws he responds with what ICT is doing

    2. Nigel M Rodgers

      The audience has judged. Read the comments.

  11. Anonymous

    Minister can you explain what you ate this morning…
    Banana
    Corn Flakes
    Bread
    Milk
    Eggs
    and so forth

  12. Nyaku

    Where is the problem with what this guy was talking about. I see some people just criticising what they do not know

    1. IT Expert

      he doesn’t know what is AI, he is not in touch with technology which he should be as its minister

  13. Tapson

    Kkkkkk he is avoiding A.I part cause he doesn’t know what it means.He thinks it means ALL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES.

  14. Chips

    Problem is these people are just being given these positions when they are out of depth regarding the field. Are there no ICT fundis who could be deputy ministers in Zim to articulate those issues properly. We are trying to sell this and all we can say is “Zimbabwe is open for business”, is that it?

  15. MenSir

    I think akaenda kunodya ma per diem mdara uyu. He clearly has no idea what AI is.

  16. Tafadzwa

    What a damn shame.

  17. NYASHA MADZOKERE

    This reminds me of myself when I was interviewed on a job I had lied about my qualifications..Pakaipaaa

  18. Nomza

    I don’t hear anything embarrassing in that interview. Zimbabweans are we supposed to criticize everything come on guys something has seriously gone wrong in our people’s minds.

    1. Ham

      Nomza, what is AI? Maybe we can start from there.

    2. Anonymous

      Do u know what AI is?

  19. hfhf

    At least mthuli Ncube ari nani when he is talking to those people overseas.

  20. Chola

    Zim doesn’t need such lofty visions, the interviewer was polite enough. This dense brother wouldn’t recognize a 2030 vision if it came up to bite him in the posterior.

    Just focus on getting clean water and electricity to your people before you can talk about AI. Your vision should be what others have taken for granted and consider these things utilities and not amenities. Because quiet frankly, basic needs are amenities in Zimbabwe.

    The nation is already teetering in an unprecedented economic crisis and humanitarian meltdown. The last thing they need is a moron talking garbage about 2030 erroneous visions.

    All the best with the promised economic recovery with such fools at the helm.

  21. Anonymous

    Umm the deputy minister is something else

  22. Chola

    Just stop already and fix the broken infrastructure. And some of your are focused on whether he mailed the definition or not. It is far from that. When you appear at these events you are on a global stage and can not afford to BS your way around smart people. This is not your ZANU-pf platform Buttercup.

    Here is a sample of what this perceived genius could have said and save face.

    “AI can come later, but to attract investors, fixing our broken infrastructure has to be top priority. As such, AI will be considered on a very small scale in comparison to our neighbor South Africa . We need to get our folks back to work.”

    “Zimbabwe is open for business “ was the main theme of the inaugural address in case you forgot. Unless that was just another empty speech and has been trashed and forgotten about.

  23. INI uya uya

    I think minisita just lacked political eloquence which is a farce anyways he didn’t do anything bad and he wasn’t far off. Hate zanu to the core but also hate un necessary critics. Akataura key notes of AI as he understands it will affect ma zimbo, remember he is not PR for tech giants.

  24. Shindi

    Hahahaha – that’s all I can say.

  25. Corina

    What a hopeless case! There is really no forgiveness for this kind of daftness 🤬

  26. Tonderai

    Ladies and gentlemen, our minister, leading the ICT sectors development from the front and so forth.

  27. Rue

    Phew!!

  28. Anonymous

    Ah disgrace to people working tirelessly to comprehend the subject.

  29. Chief Mashayamombe

    It’s so pathetic that Doctorate degrees are no longer awarded on merit but on who you know. This marks further destruction to our already ailing economy. Where are we heading as a nation?

  30. DissapointedCitizen

    Nigga dznt knw what AI is… Fudge

  31. benedict

    techZim you the best on technological news, i believe in this sight

  32. dambudzo haana kuhwinha election

    wtf… zimbabwe is officially sh*tsburg!

    Mugabe fcked up so bad that even the stupidest idiot can now just be made minister. How did we allow this to happen to our beloved nation. Troll all you want but ed and his minions are clueless and are ruining this country!

  33. Leo

    This is so sad

  34. Me

    Maigoat… wtf!!!!! Heee harness …. transform…. Ndazonyara.

  35. Anonymous

    His responses were not that bad, for a layman when it comes to technology.

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