Staff Writer
Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory of Zimbabwe said one of the major challenges faced during the year was the weakening of local currency.
POTRAZ Director General Dr Gift Machengete said this at a four-day strategic planning workshop Tuesday in Mutare where he highlighted the highs and lows of the sector.
“One of the major challenges is that of currency instability as at one time the exchange rate skyrocketed within a short period of time following rapid weakening of the local currency.
“True to the ascertain that nothing is certain, the exchange rate dramatically dropped at one time following the strengthening of the local currency, which was a totally new phenomena in the Zimbabwean market,” Dr Machengete said.
“While we managed to adjust accordingly to these fluctuations, our desired state is that of a stable currency – as we are currently experiencing as it promotes planning.
“However, may this be a wake-up call to us all as we plan – that anything can happen. We must also learn that in surprise situations, swift and decisive action always save the day,” he said.
“Another challenge faced was on the procurement front where some unscrupulous suppliers sought to take advantage of the exchange rate fluctuations to make a killing off POTRAZ by deliberately not supplying the goods or services paid for, preferring to refund the Authority the paid amount as it would have been eroded by inflation.
“This is pure criminal and as an Authority we shall not tolerate such dubious practices.”
Dr Machengete said POTRAZ would continue with its mandate of regulation, licensing, consumer protection, data protection and universal access. “That is cast in stone. What should change, however, are the strategies to achieve our mandate.
“We should look at continuous improvement and continuous promotion of efficiency and effectiveness in our systems. Therefore, as we strategize, we need fresh ideas, we need new thinking. We don’t want to simply rearrange targets on those same old projects but moot new projects all together,” he said.
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