By YVONNE CHATE and MILDRED KATONGO –

THE Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) has urged  girls not  to abuse Information and Communication Technology (ICT) but utilise it for beneficial information.
ZICTA public relations manager Ngabo Nankonde said some young girls especially those in learning institutions are abusing internet facilities much to the detriment of their morals.
Ms Nankonde said in an interview in Ndola at the ongoing Trade Fair that girls should take interest in ICT careers and use the internet productively.
“As ZICTA we are urging the girls to take interest in ICT careers and stop wasting time on social media by chatting with people they don’t know especially men that can physically abuse them once they meet but instead learn some recipes from the internet and other subjects, “ she said
Ms Nankonde said  it was saddening to note that despite girls and boys having equal opportunities to access internet services, girls were not utilising the services.
She said females were not eager to pursue ICT careers because they lacked interest.
She said in a way to encourage girls to participate in ICT programmes, ZICTA held different seminars for Girls in ICT aimed at sharing different ideas.
She also said ZICTA in collaboration with various organisations had a child online protection programme aimed at curbing cyber crime on the internet.
She said ZICTA child online protection ambassador was Zambia’s female boxer Esther Phiri.
With the introduction of ICT in schools ZICTA was also working in collaboration with the Ministry of Education to educate pupils on the importance of ICT.
She said the authority was on course in fighting cyber crime in the country and that a team of experts had been trained to sensitise members of the public on the dangers of cyber crime.
“Using ICT is important but it has a negative effect if it is abused, cyber crime has been on the increase but ZICTA is on course in terms of fighting the vise,” she said.