By Tendai Chisiri
In a bid to ensure that unserved and undeserved rural areas receive connectivity and participate fully in the digital economy, Postal Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has relocated nine collocated towers around the country this year.
Speaking at the 2023 Annual Strategic Planning Workshop held in Mutare POTRAZ director general, Dr Gift Machengete said victories are won in the planning room and on the drawing board which make actual battles mere formalities. “Victories are won right here at the strategic planning workshop, which makes the execution of our mandate, a stroll in the park. This is because battles are won by looking behind and introspecting on past successes and failures so that we capitalise and improve on these going forward, which is exactly the reason we are all gathered here today”, Machengete said.
“It is from this backdrop that we need to look back and take stock on our achievements and failures for 2023 so that we appropriately plan for the year ahead”, he added.
He said they are relocating towers placed together to new sites. The idea is premised on infrastructure sharing where POTRAZ is saying all mobile network operators should share towers hence there is no need to have three towers on one single mountain top. All where there is such a scenario whereby there are collocated towers, POTRAZ is moving to remove the excess towers to places that do not have towers then they all share the towers. All operators are happy with this project which is being funded by POTRAZ .
The eleven collocated towers so far relocated are Gokwe Mountain Econet Tower to Karimbuka USF Site, Iron Duke Mine Econet Tower to Chitiyo USF Site, Maringire Econet Tower to Gezani USF Site, Villi-Villi Tower to Chikwarakwara USF Site, Shangani Econet Tower to Nswazi USF Site,Venice Mine Econet Tower to Muchekawakasungabeta USF Site, Chemakumguwo Econet Tower to Zvipani USF Site, Altivina Farm Econet Tower to Fair Adventure, Hwedza USF Site and Royi NetOne Tower to Svuure . The operators of the towers are the ones implementing whilst POTRAZ is funding. Two towers are still under construction and these are NetOne Nyamapanda Tower to Makaha USF Site and Tekiola (Chitekete) Tower to Msampakaruma.
“In 2023, we funded the relocation of nine (9) collocated towers around the country to ensure unserved and underserved rural areas receive connectivity and participate fully in the digital economy. This brings to eleven (11), the total number of towers relocated to date and this figure is likely to rise to thirteen (13) by year end if Telecel and NetOne complete their outstanding projects which are underway”, he said.
Also various projects have been carried out by POTRAZ in 2023 . “To enhance Internet access and use in rural areas, POTRAZ continued with its flagship Community Information Centre (CIC) program which was enhanced during the year with the construction of an additional 32 CIC which are now at various stages of completion. Completion of all 32 CICs will bring to 202, the total number of CICs in the country. This is a huge achievement towards our national quest for universal access and use of ICTs”, he added.
In 2024 the Authority will start village based mobile training sessions in basic computer appreciation with a view to improving CIC patronage as people would appreciate the importance and usefulness of the centres more once they have basic knowledge of computers and the Internet. Although the number of people visiting CICs continues to increase steadily, the Authority is of the opinion that the CICs are under-utilised stemming from a lack of appreciation of the benefits of the sites to individuals and communities as well as a general lack of computer skills among rural folk.
“2023 was an extra-ordinary year on the e-learning front after POTRAZ rolled out a massive Computer Lab per School Program. The program, which is ongoing has so far seen a staggering 7860 computers being distributed to a whooping 315 schools and universities. Such life changing interventions are affording pupils in rural areas equal opportunities as those in towns and cities in terms of ICTs”, he revealed.
“However, while the Authority has done so much, the number of schools that still require assistance with computers is huge. We shall, therefore continue on this trajectory and aim to surpass this year’s impressive figures until we ultimately reach our target of equipping all under privileged schools with computer labs”, POTRAZ director general stated.
In the interest of ICT inclusivity and in tandem with the NDS1 and SDGs theme of “Leaving No one and No Place Behind”, the Authority has in prior years provided assistive software and hardware to various institutions housing people with disabilities. This year, the Authority moved a notch higher by offering training in Basic ICT Skills to persons with disabilities, with the latest training being that of 31 visually impaired persons in Masvingo province. Another batch of 30 persons with disability was also trained in Bindura earlier in the year. This is a countrywide program, which is being rolled out to close the digital skills divide between the disabled and able bodied of society and as such all areas of the country will be covered.
“Moving to the regulatory arena, I am pleased to note that with a view to improving quality of service in the postal sector, the Authority this year, implemented the Postal Automated Quality of Service Monitoring System at thirty-five (35) ZIMPOST post offices. The system has since been tested by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) who were the implementing partner and is working just fine. The system which tracks mail movements in terms of delivery times is set to enhance efficiency and reliability in the postal services sector, thus, assisting in the rejuvenation of the sector through improved confidence”, he noted.
Similarly, during the year, the Authority acquired the Online Data Collection System, which will enhance accuracy and efficiency in the compilation of quarterly sector performance reports. In the past when the Authority was computing returns from operators manually, compilation of the sector report would take around 60 days to complete, whereas with the new system, a lead time of only 14 days is required to produce reports from time of submission of returns by operators. This will go a long way in enhancing regulatory efficiency.
Such progressive regulatory tools will add to an array of other tools acquired in prior years such as the Telecommunications Traffic Monitoring System (TTMS) and the Telecommunications Quality of Service Monitoring System to bring about the much-desired regulatory efficiency in such a fast paced technological environment, which demands such agility and foresight.
“To enhance operational efficiency and promote evidence-based regulatory interventions, in 2023 POTRAZ constituted a Research and Development Unit in the Director General’s Office, which is responsible for conducting sector specific research. In a short space of time the unit completed research on data protection trends by both data controllers and data subjects. This is in a bid to appreciate the status quo so as to come up with appropriate interventions. The unit is currently conducting research on the countries Child Online Protection Trends with a view to strengthening systems in this area. Furthermore, the unit is working on the development and publication of an ICT Journal.”, he explained.
“On another note, following the designation of POTRAZ as the Data Protection Authority of Zimbabwe, I am excited that this year POTRAZ recruited personnel and fully constituted a Data Protection Unit within the Authority. POTRAZ has since scored milestones in terms of data protection advocacy after rolling out a number of physical and virtual Data Protection Sensitisation Workshops. Plans to train Data Protection Officers (DPOs) through the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) are at an advanced stage”, Machengete elaborated.
He also said tthe list of achievements for the year is inexhaustible in the time provided, but he is on the overall pleased to note that officers put in their 100% during the year and a great deal has been achieved.
“The year was however, not without its fair share of challenges. One of the major challenges faced during the year is that of currency instability as at one time the exchange rate skyrocketed within a short period of time following rapid weakening of the local currency. True to the ascertain that nothing is certain, the exchange rate dramatically dropped at one time following the strengthening of the local currency, which was a totally new phenomena in the Zimbabwean market” POTRAZ director general bemoaned.
“While we managed to adjust accordingly to these fluctuations, our desired state is that of a stable currency – as we are currently experiencing as it promotes planning. However, may this be a wake-up call to us all as we plan – that anything can happen. We must also learn that in surprise situations, swift and decisive action always save the day”, he said.
“Another challenge we faced is on the procurement front where some unscrupulous suppliers sought to take advantage of the exchange rate fluctuations to make a killing off POTRAZ by deliberately not supplying the goods or services paid for, preferring to refund the Authority the paid amount as it would have been eroded by inflation. This is pure criminal and as an Authority we shall not tolerate such dubious practices”, he added
“Looking ahead, what is constant is our mandate of regulation, licensing, consumer protection, data protection and universal access. That is cast in stone. What should change, however, are the strategies to achieve our mandate. We should look at continuous improvement and continuous promotion of efficiency and effectiveness in our systems. Therefore, as we strategize, we need fresh ideas, we need new thinking. We don’t want to simply rearrange targets on those same old projects but moot new projects all together”, he noted
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