‘Tariffs standing in the way of internet penetration’
Brian Rungano Temba
The Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services on Tuesday commemorated the 2022 International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) at Zhombe Post Office in Midlands.
During the ceremony the Minister of ICT Dr Jenfan Muswere said although the infrastructure coverage has improved, tariffs are stunting digital penertration.
Minister Muswere said the issue is set to be addressed at a policy level.
“The liberalisation of markets and the introduction of mobile technology has revolutionised the lives of our people by enabling them to communicate by phone and also to be financially included through mobile money, this development has been highly uneven.
My Ministry has rolled out a number of projects including the Community Information Centres (CIC) that has been commissioned.
To date, we have launched a number of CICs in this Province, which among other benefits, will hopefully extend that affordable access to communications.
A number of these projects are centred on providing access to information across all Provinces in Zimbabwe
As we moved from simple voice to higher value Internet services, there has been inequity in terms of access.
By 2018 in many African countries the number of Internet users had not even met the roughly 25 percent Internet penetration believed to be the critical mass required to enjoy the network effects associated with economic growth and development.
Fortunately for us, Zimbabwe’s Internet penetration rate has been increasing and stood at 61.3 percent according to POTRAZ Second Quarter Report of 2022. Broadband network extension remains an issue.
Whilst the country’s broadband coverage may be high, significant portions of the population remain unconnected,” added Minister Muswere.
Minister Muswere said the commemorations hold significance as his Ministry strives to leave no one and no place behind as they move towards attainment of the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) in particular, Digital economy.
“Despite the hype around smartphones connecting the poor, the ‘digital divide’ between the poor and the rich remains significant. Furthermore, while the ‘digital gap’ between men and women is diminishing, it, however, is persisting.
We still have an opportunity, though, to shape policy and accelerate changes to enable our people to improve their lives through the use of ICTs. To this end, the Ministry working with the ICT Sector has set up ICT labs in all the Provinces including previously marginalised areas. Base Stations have been deployed to cover almost all areas.
Efforts are being made to bring coverage to some areas that had no network coverage,” added Minister Muswere.
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