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Explain release of cellphone lines — Parly
The Herald (Zimbabwe)
December 19, 2006

http://www1.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=12884&cat=1&livedate=12/19/2006

PARLIAMENT has demanded an explanation on the recent release of more than 600 000 cellular phone lines by NetOne, Econet and Telecel, a move that has created massive congestion on the network.

The Ministry of Transport and Communication has been asked to issue a public statement on the rationale behind the release of the lines by the three mobile phone service providers.

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Communication said it has been inundated with calls from concerned Zimbabweans from all walks of life questioning the logic of offloading new lines on to the market by Zimbabwe's mobile service providers without adequate upgrading and expansion of base stations.

People are complaining that they are getting a shoddy service, mainly seen in difficulties in making calls, a problem being attributed to network congestion.

NetOne, Econet and Telecel have all recently released thousands of new lines in response to overwhelming growing demand.

NetOne availed 200 000 lines, Econet released 300 000 lines while Telecel brought 120 000 new lines onto the market within the past two months.

Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee Cde Leo Mugabe told the Secretary for Transport and Communications, Engineer George Mlilo, that the public was anxious to know what was happening and what the ministry was doing to deal with the situation.

Cde Mugabe said this yesterday when Eng Mlilo and Air Zimbabwe officials had come to give oral evidence on what the airline was doing to turn around its fortunes.

"As a committee, our duty is to deal with policy issues but we have received these concerns (whereas) we do not have the mandate to deal with the issues," said Cde Mugabe, who is Makonde MP (Zanu-PF).

"We would, therefore, ask you to make a public statement explaining the release of these new lines because there now seems to be congestion of the network. This issue is for the Executive to explain and we need to know what is happening."

Eng Mlilo said he would soon make a public statement explaining what his ministry was doing to mitigate the problem and why the three companies released the lines.

Many companies and individuals have been complaining that while the release of new lines was a welcome development in that it gave them more accessibility, it was fraught with inconveniences as instant connection had become very difficult.

They said the release of the lines has created a lot of pressure on the network and this was costing them business as clients were having a nightmare trying to make calls.

They have called for the creation first of sufficient capacity to control traffic after which the mobile phone operators release additional lines.

Subscribers have complained that intra-network connection, which used to be easier in the past, was now as difficult as inter-network connection owing to the release of the new lines.

Zimbabwe's total subscriber base is expected to be pushed to about 1,5 million users by the end of the year as mobile service providers battle to kill the thriving black market for lines.

Cde Leo Mugabe told Air Zimbabwe officials to furnish the committee with their turnaround plan and arrange a tour to the national airline's premises so that the committee could familiarise itself with the parastatal's operations.

"We would want to meet with you in the New Year after all these things have been done and you would also be telling us how far you would have gone in implementing the turnaround strategy," he said.

"Your company runs a complex industry. We want to understand your operations and perhaps we need to undertake a tour and see how the airline is run. We are not experts in running companies like Air Zimbabwe, so we need to learn before we can ask you questions.

"We understand that in the budget you did not get any money, we would also want to know how you intend to run the company without support from the fiscus."

Cde Mugabe urged the airline to address its problems expeditiously to avoid embarrassing situations and unnecessary bad publicity.

Other members of the committee are Chiredzi North MP Cde Celine Pote (Zanu-PF), Zengeza legislator Mr Goodrich Chimbaira (MDC), Pumula-Luveve MP Mr Esaph Mdlongwa (MDC), Zhombe lawmaker Cde Daniel Mackenzie-Ncube (Zanu-PF), Kadoma West legislator Cde Zacharia Ziyambi (Zanu-PF), and Rushinga MP Cde Lazarus Dokora (Zanu-PF).

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