Shame Makoshori, Business Reporter
KANDA Siabwanda, the chairman of Malange Fisheries at Chalala Lagoon in Kariba, 500 kilometres northwest of Harare, wakes up every morning to embark on a routine adventure that has become part of his daily life.
Over the past 24 months, Siabwanda has been labouring daily from his compound through the rugged terrain for two kilometres to reach a hilltop where connection to Telecel Zimbabwe, one of the country’s three mobile phone networks, is sometimes possible.
As head of a small kapenta fishing cooperative, Siabwanda’s brief involves keeping up to date with market dynamics in Harare, Bulawayo and other towns.
Despite the torturous routine in this hot part of the country where temperatures sometimes soar to more than 35 degrees Celsius, the 39-year old fisherman is still happy.
At least, he says, the huge overheads they once committed on transport, food, accommodation and allow-ances for staff travelling to other towns on duty have been curtailed by the recent availability of mobile phone networks in remote parts of Zimbabwe, including Kariba, even though connectivity remains erratic.
“This gadget(cellphone) has significantly reduced the cost of running our companies here. Two years ago, we spent the equivalent of US$120 on food, transport and accommodation per night for every member of staff travelling to Harare for simple transactions like banking or ordering spares. If a trip required two or more members to undertake, that meant we would spend a fortune,” Siabwanda said, clutching an old Nokia handset.
“Unfortunately, this was also at a time when the economic crisis that ravaged the country back then was severely affecting our operations. We are still facing connection problems beca-use the nearest base stations are far away but we are communicating.
“Now we can spend between 90 cents and US$1 for transactions that used to cost us hundreds of dollars. Sometime it is frustrating because the network is almost always down but with persistence we get through, or we text messages,” he said.
Thanks to the rapid development of the mobile telecommunications industry a quiet revolution is taking place in Zimbabwe’s mobile phone industry, which has transformed the lives of entrepreneurs in the country’s poorest districts, for years denied by economics and geography the vital link to relatives and friends, Africa and the world.
Telecel Zimbabwe, along with Net*One and Econet Wireless Zimb-abwe — the country’s mobile cellular operators — are drawing in subscribers in previously marginalised areas.
The mobile phone firms say despite initial skepticism on the rural and remote peri-urban market, business in the segment has taken them by surprise.
“It is difficult to tell in terms of numbers how many people in rural areas are on the mobile phone networks but the spread of the networks into the rural areas is now quite extensive,” says Reward Kangai, chairman of the Teleco-mmunications Operators Association of Zimba-bwe. “It has been a success story, they say people in rural areas have no money but when we switch on our base stations there the response has been surprisingly good.”
The impact of the telecommunications revolution has gone beyond enhancing communications in Zimbabwe, experts say.
The networks are beginning to transform the country’s economy by reducing the cost of doing business.
Siabwanda says transport and accommodation costs that previously constituted the bulk of their overheads, have been reduced by more than 80 percent since they started accessing mobile phone networks.
Hoteliers, who often banked on unreliable high frequency radio communication systems, say tourists are now able to communicate with family, friends and business associates back in their countries while on holiday. This has made the country more attractive to the discerning tourist.
More than 80 percent of villagers who have access to the networks say they have had grea-ter contact and impr-oved relationships with families and friends.
At least 50 percent of small businesses run by Zimbabwe’s new breed of entrepreneurs at growth points rely solely on mobile phones.
Progressive policy changes have also played their part in lowering the cost of communicating.
Last year, the inclusive government significantly lowered duty on handsets, a policy change that saw prices of the gadgets coming down by about 50 percent.
With increasing subscribers in rural areas, mines and farms following the demonetisation in July last year of the Zimbabwe dollar, growth of mobile phone companies has also been robust.
The penetration rate hit 30 percent last year from only four percent in 2008 while teledensity soured to 24 percent in November last year from eight percent in February the same year.
Revenues have also soared although it is difficult to get the figures from privately-run networks.
Econet, the only publicly listed of the three mobile phone networks, and the largest, said revenues increased to US$88 million in the 12 months ending February 2009, up from US$60 million in 2008. Econet’s network is currently sitting on three million subscribers.
The number of mobile phone subscribers has grown by 8 000 percent to four million early this year from 50 000 in 1998.
Telecel’s subscriber base has surged to about 500 000 from 3 000 in 1998, Econet has grown to more than three million from 23 000 and Net*One is sitting at about 300 000 subscribers from about 25 000 in 1998.
This translates to an average of three people per handset in 2010, from 13 people per handset in 2007.
“This development will undoubtedly bridge the technological gap, eradicate poverty and empower communities (but) our network expansion efforts are being hampered by the shortage of electricity in the country and subsequent load shedding by ZESA,” says Kangai.
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Government should leave business to entrepreneurs, the same goes to SMM, farms etc its sad!!!