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Fungai Lupande Mash Central Bureau

A process has begun to redistribute some base stations to areas that do not have them, as the country moves to ensure all area are connected, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) director general Dr Gift Machengete, has said.

He said they have started with a pilot project and afterwards, they will roll out the programme throughout the country

Speaking at the launch of NetOne’s Siyalima base station in Guruve recently, Dr Machengete said infrastructure sharing was a requirement that should be implemented. 

“It is the mandate of the regulator (Potraz) to make sure that the whole country is covered. We have a lot of places and gaps that need to be filled. 

“We support activities and encourage them to continue with the good work. NetOne is geared for serious things in terms of correcting our network programs. I call upon other operators to do the same,” said Dr Machengete.

NetOne acting CEO, Mr Raphael Mushanawani, said the Siyalima base station was an important and strategic infrastructure which will improve connectivity for many people in Guruve district.

He said ICTs were at the heart of the Second Republic’s Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 1 goal number one, as an enabler for communication, development and business investment.

“The world witnessed the critical role played by ICTs as Covid-19 threatened the closure of business. The world continued to function in a contactless environment and business continued with day-to-day operations,” said Mr Mushanawani.

NetOne recently commissioned the US$71 million project which includes network expansion and installation of energy to support the network and other services.

“We are grateful to the ministry for funding these huge investments. The two-year, phase three project will see NetOne increasing its footprint through the installation of more than 300 base stations in all corners of the country,” he said.

The Siyalima base station will bring downstream benefits to farmers, miners and the community. 

Gold and chrome miners will benefit from improved network coverage, which will facilitate ease of doing business.

Guruve South legislator Cde Patrick Dutiro thanked the President for fulfilling his promise to bring network connectivity to people of Siyalima.

“This is a farming community and we are doing e-farming. We don’t want people to leave the field in search of network connectivity. Now our farmers can confirm the availability of inputs before travelling.

“This area has about 18 000 people who were excluded from information communication technology. We want these network providers to share base stations and Potraz to ensure that they adhere to the regulations for the benefit of the community.

“We also want them to make use of solar energy and wind power generation to curb power outages and ensure that people have network coverage all the time,” said Cde Dutiro.