By Golden Kang'oma
Salima, July 14, Mana: Chief Community Development Officer responsible for Adult Literacy in the Ministry of Gender and Community Development, Samuel Ziba, has said high illiteracy levels in rural areas significantly affect the progress and implementation of development projects.
Speaking at a preparatory meeting for World Literacy Day in Salima on Saturday, Ziba emphasized the critical impact of illiteracy on various development interventions.
He said: “There is a huge knowledge gap in the communities, development projects fail to progress as some communities do not understand initiatives due to high illiteracy levels."
Ziba highlighted that illiteracy is also one of the major factors that is contributing to persistent poverty in rural areas saying it has the potential to derail progress if not taken care of.
“Most people remain trapped in poverty because they are illiterate. They struggle to adopt new farming technologies and fail to run businesses effectively because they cannot participate in the digital world,” he said.
He however called for increased collaboration between the government and stakeholders to address the issue at hand.
“There is a need for stakeholders to partner with the government in reducing illiteracy, especially by providing resources, as it seems to be a significant setback,” he added.
Chairperson of the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Salima, Paul Duncan said tackling illiteracy issues will help to enhance project implementation in different communities.
“Reducing illiteracy levels will help make project implementation a success and will lead to significant improvements in many communities. As CSOs, we are committed to working with the government and ensure that our initiatives focus on reducing illiteracy levels,” he said.
On her part, District Coordinator for Centre for Youth Empowerment and Civic Education (CYECE), Aggie Chang said reducing illiteracy in communities can help children to stay in school and their rights protected since education empowers people.
