Data hike betrays ‘ease of doing business’
EDITOR — The decision by Potraz to enforce a price floor on mobile network operators is counter to the “ease of doing business” principle which the Government is preaching.
Recently, the Finance Minister came out urging citizens to consider alternative methods of transacting and making payments, with internet banking among the priority areas.
However, with the upward price review initiated by Potraz, citizen compliance will be difficult. The prices are considered by many to be astronomic and unreasonable.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education defended the reason to launch an online application system for Form One places because smartphone penetration was improving in the country.
At this moment and time, their argument cannot be sustained considering that data charges are rising. If Econet’s rapid response is anything to go by, Zimbabwe is on course of having some of the highest internet charges on the continent.
It would have been plausible if the internet speeds in the country were fast. Our connection is worryingly slow and undeservedly expensive, the contradiction is an inconvenience to the end users.
I think as a country, Potraz owes us an explanation as to why they have decided to push mobile operators to bleed their subscribers.
We need to understand why they have to initiate price increases. The world is moving towards freeing up the digital space and Zimbabwe seems to be treading backwards.
Many people are now running their business startups through their mobile phones and the impending price increase will be a blow to their operations.
There are still a lot of questions around the internet issue and Potraz must come out to clarify their position. They must also answer if there was any public engagement prior to their decision.
In all honesty, they should reconsider their decision, especially in these tough economic times. G. Mhlanga, Via e-mail.