Blog #Zimbabwe

Well if you ever transacted in the past few days, you would have noticed a very big unpleasant change to the charges Ecocash is now charging. Where are we really going as a nation, is it a lack of worthy competitors, or government policies causing all these unrealistic charges. Apparently to transact $5 the charges are now about $2 that’s a 40% charge on a single transaction, all this is a result of the Digital Service Tax (DST) on top of the government tax and the service provider charges as well. Lack of clarity on actual charges is what is causing this uproar and the reasons for these ureasonable hikes yet to be disclosed to us, where will this money go and what will it be used for. Let’s take a look at what is really happening so we may try to get handle on the current situation.

In a rather unprecedented and rarely seen move in the Zimbabwe business world, Econet is planning to delist on the Zimbabwe stock exchange and the company also made a number of chages in it's business and structure with the splitting of it's operations nd introducing entities like Econet InfraCo. While some understand what it means other don't especially those who buy stock without having deeper comprehension of how it all really works, we are here to explain to you. So to address the elephant in the room and answer the most asked question, yes Econet will still be a public company after it delists and all the rules that affect public companies will still affect, for example getting shareholder approval for major decisions and so on. So what will happen to the shareholders and the country as a whole since Econet is one of the biggest companies i Zimbabwe. Let's get on into with it.

Social media has been flooded with reports that Zimbabwe has enacted a new cyber law to deal with the Cyber crime but POTRAZ has moved to dismiss those reports. The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has moved to correct misinformation circulating online. Zimbabwe has not passed a separate law called a “Cyber Crimes Act.” Instead, cybercrime offences are handled through amendments to the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act changes introduced when the Cyber and Data Protection Act (2021) updated the Criminal Code. So actually what is the cybercrime act and how does it affect general citizens.

The coming of Starlink has undoubtedly been a blessing and a curse depending on which side you are on between telecoms operator and general users. It has force local Inter Service Providers (ISPs) like Econet, Netone and Telone to re-calibrate and change to adapt to the new competition in the form of Starlink which is great news for general users. Lately Netone has also introduce a new service known as Reverse Calling (Pay for Me), a feature that allows subscribers to make voice calls even when they have no airtime, with the call cost transferred to the recipient once they accept the call. It’s no secret every major player is trying to innovate to keep hold of it’s customers so let’s dive deep and understand what this technology really is.

Zimbabwe’s land is managed under a complex mix of constitutional provisions, statutes, and customary practice. The 2013 Constitution and various Acts of Parliament define three main categories of land tenure – freehold (private), leasehold (state-resettlement), and communal – and set rules for each. Importantly, communal land (former tribal trust land) is vested in the President, but used by rural communities under customary law. Chiefs and village heads may administer communal land locally, but they do not personally own it but the problem to this system is that most chiefs don't have the full grasp of the law as recently witnessed in the Chief Murinye incident, where he blocked the road to stop parents going for opening day demanding some kind of payment for the Riverton school built in his area.

In a rather unprecedented move, Econet is planning a shocker, though the move is common offer seas on the some of the biggest exchanges in the world locally it's a rather unsual move. Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Ltd. will voluntarily delist from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, citing a persistent valuation discount to regional peers. Econet has advised shareholders and the investing public to exercise caution when dealing in the company’s securities until further announcements are made regarding the delisting process and related transactions. So what does this really mean for stakeholders?

As we close the year, 2025 has been a year filled with a lot happening in all aspects of our lives from social to businesses. Foreign investment has ramped up notably China investing more in the country (Is it a good thing to have such dependency?) , well a topic for another day. As reported in the media china alone has over 500 new players in 2025 alone further highlighting a trend that has been on the rise and in some instances, unsettling. Well it seems government is taking a turn albeit not in all sectors. Government has banned foreigners from owning businesses in certain sectors giving those who already do to sell off their business, let's take a closer look at what sectors are eing affected by this new laws and what it means for business owners and potential owners.

Have you ever wondered how lightning results, we science has explanations for that but local culture has other explanations too especially during the first days of the rainy season. Zimbabwe is one of the most lightning-struck places on Earth, and a mix of extreme weather and deep-rooted superstition about these lightning strikes doesn't make this any better. To those who have been unfortunate enough to witness a lighting strike closeby will tell that after seeing it upclose you don't really care if it's science or black magic because it's terrifying all the same. So what really is lightning, we are gonna explore both options.

A few weeks ago, the government announced the scrapping of some fees and the reduction of fees in a wide range of areas from motorists fees, to city fees and to even business and agriculture fees but despite the announcement these fees had not yet been reduced raising concerns about the disconnection between central government and local authorities. In another move, the government has scrapped eleven licence requirements and consolidated fragmented local authority permits into a single, unitary licence as part of broader reforms to enhance the ease of doing business, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has said.

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.