Econet chastises Harare minister over tariff muddle
TELECOMS giant Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has got into a row with a government minister over mobile tariffs.
The face-off is unusual as business in Zimbabwe usually toes the line, cautious of ruffling the feathers of President Robert Mugabe’s administration.
But Econet, owned by telecoms tycoon Strive Masiyiwa, said it was necessary for it to speak up against Information and Communications Technology Minister Supa Mandiwanzira over the increase in data tariffs — which had led to a public outcry and a #DataMustFall campaign on social media — and their subsequent reversal.
The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe had set a new floor price for data and voice, while issuing a compliance date for all mobile operators.
Of the three mobile operators in Zimbabwe, only Econet had complied with the directive.
The spat turned nasty when Econet accused Mandiwanzira of lying following his decision to reverse the tariff increase, announcing it before Econet had made its announcement.
Econet said that Mandiwanzira, by abruptly reversing the tariff increase, had acted to “capture” a vital industry and accused him of “inconsistency and duplicity”.
Mandiwanzira said mobile operators had proposed the increases to the regulator and that they were “shockingly high” and “reflect insensitivity”.
But an Econet executive, who spoke anonymously this week, said “the storm would pass” as both the telecoms giant and the government needed each other.
“Mandiwanzira is conflicted in that Econet’s rivals, Telecel and NetOne, report to him and he plays both referee and player in this industry,” the executive said. “Econet so far is the only company to take SPARKS FLY: Econet Wireless Zimbabwe accused the ICT minister of duplicity the government head-on simply because it has realised that sometimes you need to speak up to expose such shenanigans.”
Rashweat Mukundu, chairman of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute, a thinktank, said that with time the relations would normalise.
“Econet is a cash cow for the government, as probably the leading taxpayer, and has its own backers in the system, hence can stand up to the ICT minister,” he said.
Econet’s position comes at a time when most businesses in the country are feeling the economic squeeze and are putting pressure on the government to address the economic meltdown.
Leading business groups such as the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce and the Association for Business in Zimbabwe are talking tough to the government.
The CZI, the largest industry body, is planning to host a symposium this week at which the economic challenges will dominate discussion.
“The country is in crisis and obviously it cannot be business as usual,” said Busisa Moyo, the CZI president. “Not only is there a loss of revenue, but if companies close we could end up with a very dire situation. Companies cannot pay, are applying for short time and are laying off workers. These are serious issues.”
ZNCC CEO Christopher Mugaga said it was not true that business had remained passive and had been reduced to a bystander in the face of economic collapse.
“We are always talking to the government. We are business people and our only constituency is profit. We talk to them [policymakers] and we engage each other . . . even though we don’t always agree with each other. But definitely, we are not quiet, we make noise,” he said.
The views of the large business organisations mirror those of individual executives, who remain coy about speaking out openly for fear of retribution from the government and instead find strength in numbers within the business organisations.
The lack of prominent business people in Zimbabwe to take on the policymakers is in contrast to the situation in South Africa. Last year, business executives, among them AngloGold Ashanti chairman Sipho Pityana, called on President Jacob Zuma to step down because his leadership was harmful to the economy.
With economic growth in Zimbabwe projected to be 1.7% this year, Mugaga warned of a tough period ahead.
“It’s a harsh environment and we need to tighten our belts. What’s needed in 2017 is policy implementation, not policy formulation, so we need to move from rhetoric to implementation and, as the private sector, we set the pace.”
Business in Zimbabwe usually toes the line, cautious of ruffling feathers