by STAFF WRITER
STATE-OWNED mobile operator NetOne has appealed for fiscal reforms to ease the cost of network expansion, arguing that prohibitive taxes on digital infrastructure are throttling Zimbabwe’s ambition to become a regional technology hub.
Addressing policymakers at a mid-term economic review in the capital, NetOne chief executive Raphael Mushanawani warned that macroeconomic stabilisation alone would not deliver inclusive growth without a parallel push to deepen broadband access.
He cited global estimates that a 10-percentage-point rise in broadband penetration can lift GDP by as much as 1.5%, suggesting that Zimbabwe risks squandering its connectivity potential through inconsistent tariff treatment.
While some ICT equipment enters the country duty-free, operators remain subject to a 15% value-added tax on imports, alongside erratic classification of broadband gear and patchy exemption regimes.
Mushanawani argued that harmonising these levies would lower entry barriers, spur private investment and make data more affordable for households and businesses.
The plea comes as the company, which falls under the Mutapa Investment Fund, reports covering 85-90% of the population and a subscriber base of over four million.
Mushanawani framed its network upgrades not as routine capital expenditure but as strategic outlays in national productivity, enabling farmers to access weather data and markets, and miners to deploy real-time automation.
“Macroeconomic stability creates the foundation for growth—but digital transformation determines the speed, scale and inclusivity of that growth,” he said, adding that automation and data-driven processes could boost productivity by 15-30% while trimming operating costs.
The proposed changes align with the government’s National Development Strategy 2 and a five-year ICT policy that both prioritise digital infrastructure as a pillar of industrialisation.
With global investors skittish and geopolitical risks mounting, Zimbabwe’s competitiveness may increasingly hinge on whether its regulatory framework encourages—or encumbers—the fibre, towers and data centres needed for the fourth industrial revolution.
“We do not see ourselves as spectators in economic transformation,” Mushanawani said. “We see ourselves as architects.” The question for government is whether it will grant them the tools to build.
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