Lifestyle

It all started in the telecommunications industry when StarLink entered the scene ending the monopoly enjoyed by Econet and Netone, we also radical reactions from these companies introducing cheaper solutions something they could have done before be didn’t because there was no real alternative. Now the same strategy will applied to the energy sector, to help end a monopoly with failed service delivery in most instances. Zimbabwe is poised to finally end ZESA Monopoly, as private companies can now buy and sell electricity to citizens. Let’s hope it will have the same impact as StarLink so here is all you need to know.

To say there has been discrepancies on water bills by councils would be an understatement with a lot of inconsistencies and unfair bills often attributed to guess work, as they had to send people to physically do meter readings. Well we don’t need to point out the flaws in this method as sometimes those sent might not be able to actually have readings for each and every household given in some homes there would be no one during the day and several other reasons. As we did with electricity, water bills have finally joined the club starting with Harare. The City of Harare, in partnership with Helcraw Water Pvt Ltd and Laison Technologies, has begun installing prepaid water meters, a move aimed at improving efficiency and promoting fair billing for residents.

For the past few weeks, as we have covered in our earlier articles, the government has been slashing prices on several fees for things like licenses, city parking and more though the price cuts haven’t come into effect. This comes at a time where citizens are suffering with the deteriorating economy and failing to pay some of these fees, another agency has joined the bandwagon to try and ease the financial issues the Citizens are facing. The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) has introduced flexible payment terms for motorists who are in arrears in terms of vehicle licences. The headline is you can now pay in structured payment plans to help everyone clear their debts.

On Friday, Microsoft reminded customers once again that Windows 10 will reach its end of support in 30 days, on October 14. So what will this mean if your PC or laptop is running on Windows 10? We technically you can still use windows 10 on your laptop or pc but after it retires Windows 10, Microsoft will stop providing bug fixes or technical assistance for issues affecting security, stability, or usability. Microsoft also highlighted Windows 10 2015 LTSB and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSB 2015 will also reach the end of extended support on the same date. So here is all you need to know and if your PC hardware supports, particularly the Truster Platform Module (TPM 2.0) it’s recommended that you upgrade to Windows 11. Let’s dive deep.

Some time ago the US announced a list of 7 African countries where no new visas were to be issued for the time being. So basically this meant that those who wanted to apply for new Visas to go to the United States couldn’t expect for officials. In a surprising turn of events the U.S. government announced official application locations for citizens of seven African countries that currently lack local visa services. This move aims to streamline the visa application process for applicants who previously faced the challenge of traveling long distances to access U.S. consular services. So here is what you need to know.

For centuries the standard world map used in schools, offices and pretty much everywhere has been the Mercator projection, a centuries-old map style from the age of sail, still prevails in the internet age. Just in case you didn’t know, it was drawn that way to be easily used for navigation particularly in the sea so generally some of the countries were distorted and their sizes magnified or reduced in size. For example Africa seems like a small continent but the truth is USA, China, South America and most of western Europe can fit into Africa and still leave some space. Relevant African bodies are pushing for the correction of this centuries old misinformation and introduce a map that truly reflect the true sizes of continents and countries. So Here’s what the African Union wants to use instead.

It seems the telecoms industry is still suffering the consequences of StarLinks’ entry into the ISP sector, so much so that Zimbabwes’ biggest telecoms players are making changes after changes to try and keep up with the changing market. Having previously launched the SmartBiz data plan to try and counter StarLink, Econet is set to launch new data packages. The new data packages will be an improvement to the current SmartBiz, with this change coming based on feedback from customers which means some of your concerns were heard and taken into consideration. Well the devil is in the details, let’s delve deep into the upcoming changes.

At some point you have received suspicious messages on your device telling you that you won a device in a draw you never played or there is some inheritance left behind by a relative without your knowledge. Well some of these scams are nothing new and very simple but nevertheless some still fall for these petty attempts which lack effort and intelligence with most of these scams being contacted on WhatsApp, Meta has decided to take action to try and combat these scams by working on tools to face this problem head. So what are these new tools and how will they work.

Prior to StarLink entry, Zimbabwe had one of the most expensive data packages if not the most expensive in the world. While the introduction of StarLink might have resulted in changes the problem is still not yet resolved. Some giants like Econet were forced to innovate, coming up with SmartBiz to counter the StarLink threat. While StarLink monthly pricing is cheap, well there Kit to get started has a steep price tag which most Zimbabweans can’t afford in one go, that’s why most Zimbabweans have failed to crossover. But StarLink now offers these Kits for free in Zimbabwe and DRC just like how it has done in several European countries but to get a free kit you have to commit to a 12 month subscription plan. So here is all you need to know.

You might be planning on buying a laptop or might not be at the moment but it’s undeniable computers have become a huge part of our lives and sooner or later you will need one. But buying one is not an easy decision with lots of factors to consider from purpose to budget, we are gonna let you worry about budget but we are going to help you with the technical side of things so that you will make an informed decision and have valid reasons on why you opt for a certain choice. There's Intel and AMD on the x86 side, with Apple and Qualcomm making Arm-based processors on the other. We break down the advantages and drawbacks of each to help you pick the right chip for your needs and budget.

It all starts with a dream and a vision to have a place you call your own, without having to actually worry about monthly rentals or bothersome landlords who can be sometimes too demanding. That pursuit for freedom leads you to deciding on building your own house and you would need a place to build your dream home and that’s where the councils in every city and rurals come in, to sell you the stand to build on. With the instability of our economy, well things don’t go according to plan, you may have the money to buy the stand but you may soon realise you don't earn enough to build a house and the law doesn’t permit resale of undeveloped stands unless you are a licensed developer. If you don’t develop for a certain period your land gets taken without compensation, let’s delve in to what really goes on.

While Zimbabwe might have been slow in embracing the current technology, it’s evident the digital platforms are here to stay and lately we have been trying to keep up. Last year we saw the introduction of electronic case management system for courts then followed by the more recent Border Management System with the latter greatly reducing waiting times on airports and borders. Now it seems a new sector is going to see this digital transformation. In this piece we are going to take a closer look into Validation of Title Deeds Under the New Deed Registries Regulations, 2025 (SI 76 of 2025). It was long overdue but better late than never right?, Zimbabwe has now introduced digital title deeds under new 2025 property law. So how does this really work.