By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) Director-General, Dr Gift Machengete says Covid-19 pandemic has magnified the urgent need for accelerating digital transformation.
Presenting industry outlook during the first quarter of 2021 today in Harare, Dr Machengete said the pandemic had triggered an exponential rise in Internet usage through activities such as e-learning, e-shopping, e worshipping and e-health amongst others.
“The necessity for greater investment in digital technologies, skills and innovation can never be over-emphasised.
“Accordingly, there is an urgent need to accelerate digital transformation in line with the National Development Strategy (NDS1), which identifies the digital economy as a key pillar.
“Notwithstanding the above, foreign currency shortages will continue to bedevil the economy at large, with implications on network expansion, upgrade and maintenance,” Dr Machengete said.
“This negatively affects the quality of service standards, which will further be compromised by the anticipated increase in demand, in particular for data/Internet.”
He said foreign currency constraints would also continue to stall universal access/service projects targeted at rolling out connectivity in unserved and underserved areas, most of which are in rural areas.
“The COVID-19 pandemic will not to go away soon, but its spread may be curtailed by the ongoing vaccinations across the globe and at the national level.
“The anticipated increase in economic activity will bring about a further surge in demand for communication services, in particular data and courier volumes as consumers adapt to the new normal. Hence, the need to scale up digitalization,” he said.
The credit crunch, he said, as well as foreign currency challenges had negatively affected network expansion and maintenance as spare parts, equipment and vendor support fees require foreign currency.
He said the high cost of International Internet Connectivity remains a challenge, as Zimbabwe is a landlocked country, accessing bandwidth from undersea cables via Mozambique and South Africa.
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