Zambia has launched a National Public Key Infrastructure to support digital identity verification, electronic signatures and authenticated online transactions, with the communications regulator operating the country’s central digital trust anchor.
The Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority, or ZICTA, is acting as the National Root Certification Authority. Its role establishes the top of a certificate trust chain through which participating organizations can verify digital certificates and signatures.
ZICTA board chairperson Mundia Muya said the infrastructure would help authenticate people, organizations, devices, documents and transactions. He called on government departments, financial institutions, telecommunications operators and technology providers to integrate certificate and signature services into their systems.
Public key infrastructure uses certificates to associate an identity with a cryptographic key. A recipient can use that relationship to check a digital signature and establish whether signed information has been altered, supporting electronic transactions without exchanging paper documents.
Technology and Science Permanent Secretary Brilliant Habeenzu said the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act provides the legal foundation for the framework. He identified digital government approvals, authenticated documents and reduced reliance on physical signatures as intended uses, alongside stronger identity assurance in commercial services.
The launch accompanies a separate effort to expand Zambia’s foundational identity system. Smart Zambia Institute has sought an international integrator for a MOSIP-based digital ID platform, covering deployment, customization and links to civil registration and vital statistics systems.
That procurement also includes backend infrastructure and enrollment equipment. Smart Zambia has emphasized local development and open standards so that national institutions can maintain the identity platform over time.
Within the wider MOSIP ecosystem, WSO2 and MOSIP are modernizing eSignet, an authentication and authorization component that supports consent-based sharing of identity data with service providers. Zambia’s healthcare integration work has been among the national implementation activities associated with that ecosystem.
At the PKI launch, Smart Zambia National Coordinator Percy Chinyama urged institutions to plan for maintenance funding and staff capable of operating the infrastructure. He warned that dependence on outside technical support can leave agencies tied to vendors, and called for legal, procurement and technical teams to coordinate implementation of digital services.
Sources: Efficacy News, Zambia24
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
