Law, economy and digitalization: Benefits and detriments of the use of technology in Zambia

The paper discusses the benefits and detriments of Zambia's digital economy through the medium of technology in relation to strides made in the law in the digitalization of the economy. Zambia like the regional and global community at large, has embraced various mediums of information and communication technology in many aspects of peoples' daily lives ranging from education, work, agriculture, electronic commerce, social media and the use of electronic government services such as payment of taxes, registration of businesses, access to social security benefits, obtaining land ownership documents, motor vehicle and driver licensing, acquiring citizenship identity documents, immigration permits and visa services, investment permits and licenses among other services. Digitalization of the Zambian economy is a driver of both economic and socio-economic growth achievable through government's unwavering long-term commitment in leveraging technologies for the overall upward thrust of the country's economy. Thus, it is against this backbone that necessary state actors have put in place relevant policies and laws aimed at regulating and enhancing the use of the digital economy through technology. However, the ills of technology cannot be completely ignored. While the digital economy is a benefit for a third-world country like Zambia, this paper reveals a worrying trend of persistent and grappling ills or detriments such as cybercrimes, unreliable internet infrastructure and connectivity, high data costs, high digital divide and youth decay which threaten the greater good of achieving a meaningful digital economy.