eBusiness Weekly
Walter Muchinguri
The Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority has started consulting stakeholders on tariff increases after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe floated the foreign currency rate to US$1 to RTGS$2,5 last month
Information Communication Technology Minister Kazembe Kazembe confirmed this week that they had received proposals from Mobile Network operators but declined to disclose the reviews that they had proposed.
“Yes the issue is still under discussion, they have submitted their proposals but we have said they should wait until we have a new board, which will be in place very soon,” he said.
Potraz director technical Engineer Baxton Sirewu said while they could not discuss the proposals made by Mobile Network operators, Potraz was going to ensure that the interests of consumers are protected.
“The proposal that we have received are varied but what consumers should expect is that Portraz will announce a tariff that takes into account the cost, viability on the part of the operators and servitude,” he said.
The review in tariff comes as the cost of goods and services has been going up.
Meanwhile, Potraz customer service’s manager Phibion Chaibva, told journalists on the side lines of the authority’ outreach programme at Chinotimba shopping centre in Victoria Falls on Saturday that as an authority they were keen to ensure that subscribers get the best service and value from providers.
He said the most common complaint that they have been getting their road show was that of subscribers losing their credit without making a call.
He said some of the issues pertained to lack of communication on billing.
“Service providers should continuously engage their clients on billing so that they will make the right decision on their spending patterns,” he said.
Chaibva also said that their roadshows were also targeting children to raise awareness of dos and don’ts when using the internet.
“We are saying that the internet is good and children should access it but parents have a duty to monitor the sites that their children visit and the people they engage because some of them are very dangerous.
“The child might assume that he or she is talking or communicating with another child yet it’s someone who wants to harm them,” he said.
In terms of uptake he said the country’s mobile penetration was at 94 percent.
“Our market uptake is almost mature. We are nearly there almost everyone is connected,” he said.
