Mutambara Calls for Education and Infrastructure Overhaul to Drive AI Growth

Zimbabwe must urgently overhaul its education system and fix its power and internet infrastructure to unlock the economic benefits of artificial intelligence (AI), Professor Arthur Mutambara has said.

Speaking at a symposium titled The Economics of AI: Prospects and Possibilities for the Zimbabwean Economy, Mutambara, a former deputy prime minister and now a professor at the University of Johannesburg’s Institute for the Future of Knowledge, warned that without reliable electricity and digital connectivity, the country would remain on the margins of the global AI revolution.

“You can’t have AI without connectivity. You can’t have AI without energy,” he said. “We must get the basics right. Foundational matters must be addressed for us to reach the promised land.”

By Ruvarashe Gora

He said Zimbabwe must craft a national AI strategy and start teaching AI from the earliest levels of schooling.

Mutambara called for a complete overhaul of academic curricula to include AI, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy at all education levels. “Every university student in Zimbabwe should be exposed to these core areas,” he said.

His comments come at a time when Zimbabwe’s frequent power cuts and poor digital infrastructure are eroding the country’s once-renowned education system and threatening its ability to keep pace with global technological advancements.

Mutambara believes AI could play a transformative role in revitalising Zimbabwe’s economy if the necessary groundwork is laid. He urged policymakers to act swiftly, saying the global race for AI leadership is already well underway.