By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
Postal and Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe Director General Dr Gift Machengete has maintained that Zimbabwe was one of the countries with lowest data tariffs in the region while acknowledging challenges besetting the sector.
Speaking at a stakeholder conference in Harare, Dr Machengete said there were a lot of misconceptions regarding the pricing of data in Zimbabwe.
“Social media was recently turned into a circus with arguments on whether or not tariffs in Zimbabwe were in-fact the cheapest in the region as we presented in Parliament.
“There was confusion between headline and promotional tariffs. This led to comparisons between promotions better known as bundles and headline tariffs which are the maximum allowable tariffs,” he said.
“There were also comparisons of promotions in countries that had totally different operating environments from ours. Instead of comparing like with like – we saw people comparing apples with onions.”
Dr Machengete said it was the regulator’s job to watch over the sector to ensure consumers were protected from unfair pricing and the sector itself does not collapse.
“We are gathered here to discuss a myriad of challenges and concerns that have haunted the telecommunications sector of late.
“The workshop is also meant to set the record straight in terms of certain misconceptions, half-truths and falsehoods that have been peddled about the sector as we focus on getting onto the same page towards the progressive goal of developing the sector and indeed the Nation. Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo as His Excellency the President always puts it. Vene vacho tisu. We can only build the country if we are on the same page and moving in the same direction,” Dr Machengete said.
Dr Machengete said POTRAZ was seized with the pressing issue of low and unsustainable tariffs, which were perceived to be high.
“As the regulator we are faced with the imperative need to consider tariff adjustments to protect the sustainability of our sector from collapse. A collapsed ICT sector will spell doom for the general public and for national aspirations,” he said.
He said the deployment and maintenance of infrastructure to the development of cutting-edge technologies and services, the ICT industry required substantial capital investment to remain competitive and meet the evolving needs of society.
“Without sufficient revenue generated from tariffs, ICT operators may struggle to fund essential infrastructure upgrades, expand network coverage to underserved areas, or invest in research and development initiatives.
“While consumers rightfully seek affordability and accessibility, it is essential to recognize that maintaining an ICT infrastructure of high quality and reliability requires adequate investment and sustainable revenue streams,” he said.
POTRAZ Director Economics, Tariffs and Competition Mrs Hilda Mutseyekwa concurred saying one of the biggest challenges was that the tariffs were pegged against the ZWL instead of the USD.
She said this brought about price distortions in dual pricing and billing.
Mrs Mutseyekwa said Zimbabwe had the cheapest tariffs of less than a cent for mobile which is 0.1 of a cent and SMS 0.17 of a cent.
“With that we can still claim that we are the cheapest in the region. And for fixed data we consider data usage, validity period, speed and applications. We are still comparable int eh region. In Zimbabwe our speeds are better compared to other countries,” she said.
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