For some rural Zimbabweans, owning a mobile phone does not guarantee access to communication.
In some communities, villagers have to walk several kilometres simply to find a network signal strong enough to recharge or activate a SIM card, according to legislators who told Parliament that poor connectivity is deepening the digital divide between rural and urban Zimbabwe.
The issue came under discussion in the National Assembly on 22 September during a debate on policy measures that could attract new telecommunications service providers into Zimbabwe.
The motion, introduced by Exevia Moses Maoneke, MP for Chivi Central, focused on concerns over the country’s telecommunications sector, including limited competition, uneven network coverage and the difficulties faced by consumers in areas where existing networks are unreliable.
But as the debate moved towards rural connectivity, legislators described a situation that goes beyond inconvenience — with some saying poor network access is affecting access to government services, education, agriculture and rural businesses.
Tendai Nyathi told Parliament that network coverage in rural areas remained poor and unreliable, with many communities still dependent on 2G and 3G services.
“Network coverage in Zimbabwe, particularly in the rural areas is very poor,” Nyathi said, adding that weak connectivity makes it difficult for people to access the internet, download documents and conduct research online.
He then described what happens when people living in areas with weak network coverage need to keep their mobile lines active.
A person may have an Econet line, he said, but if the network is weak in their area, they may have to travel kilometres to find a signal and recharge the line.
The problem is even more difficult for elderly villagers in areas where another network provider dominates.
“In other rural areas where NetOne is dominant, you will see elderly ladies and let me say elderly people moving 5 to 10 kilometers just to look for a signal,” Nyathi told Parliament.
The SIM card, he pointed out, is not simply a communications tool.
For some elderly people, the same number is linked to National Social Security Authority services and government drought relief payments.
That means losing access to the network can have consequences beyond being unable to make a phone call.
“Elderly people in the rural areas need to travel long distances just to go and activate a SIM card,” Nyathi said.
He argued that the problem also risks undermining Government’s efforts to promote rural industrialisation.
Entrepreneurs operating in rural areas need reliable internet to research markets, communicate with customers and sell their products, he said.
Nyathi called for a framework that would allow other operators to enter parts of the market where existing providers were failing to deliver reliable services.
“We need to find a way that we can complement Government policy in so far as rural industrialisation is concerned,” he said, arguing that other operators should be allowed to penetrate areas where existing services were inadequate.
The concerns were echoed by Shakespear Hamauswa, MP for Warren Park, who described communities where people have to climb mountains to get a mobile signal.
Hamauswa referred to a hard-to-reach part of Mhondoro where people have to go up a mountain to access network services.
His concern was not only about internet access but what happens when people in such areas face emergencies.
“If those people stay without connection, in the event of an emergency, how best can they be assisted?” he asked.
He also linked connectivity to the livelihoods of farmers, saying internet access could allow farmers to research current problems affecting livestock and crops.
The debate also touched on the cost of data and the ability of schoolchildren and rural households to afford internet services.
Hamauswa said people needed access to data while travelling, particularly along roads where an accident could occur and a person might need to call for assistance.
“We should have access to data whenever we are travelling, even along the roads,” he said, warning that someone involved in an accident could find themselves unable to call because they were outside Wi-Fi, internet or network coverage.
The Government response acknowledged the concerns raised in Parliament but also challenged some of the technical information presented during the debate.
Dingumuzi Phuti, Deputy Minister of ICT, said the issue required cooperation between Government institutions, the telecommunications regulator and other bodies responsible for competition and consumer rights.
“This is a collaborative effort that calls for POTRAZ as a regulator, the Ministry, Mutapa and other entities,” Phuti said.
However, Phuti said some of the technical claims and statistics presented by legislators required further verification.
“Because some technical issues were not actually very factual,” he said, Government had doubts about the accuracy of some of the statistics presented during the debate.
He committed the Ministry to providing Parliament with a more detailed presentation or report addressing the issues raised.
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