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Zimbabwe set to approve Starlink as it admits broadband infrustructure limitations

Information Minister Janfan Muswere


HARARE – Zimbabwe has received Starlink’s application for a licence to provide satellite internet services and it is likely to be approved, information minister Jenfan Muswere said on Monday.

Muswere, who was Information Technology minister until last month, said the application is currently being reviewed by the Postal & Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ).

“What I remember is that they submitted their application for licencing and POTRAZ was still going through that application… Of course we want to see it approved,” Muswere said during a meeting with editorial executives of privately-owned media organisations.

“It’s not possible to have fibre-optic cables across the country. It’s a reality that we need satellite technology for communication purposes. What we want as the government is a situation where every citizen from Binga to Chiredzi is also connected. That’s what the government wants, to leave no-one behind.”

Owned by United States billionaire Elon Musk, Starlink is the satellite internet venture of SpaceX. It has a fast-growing network of more than 4,000 satellites in low earth orbit.

Starlink has rolled out services in several African countries including Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, Mozambique, Reunion, Malawi and Zambia but it still has to undergo regulatory approvals in many other countries.


On its website, it says it expects to roll out services in Zimbabwe in the last three months of the year, but this appears unlikely as POTRAZ drags its feet on granting final approvals.

Starlink is seen as a solution to lack of internet connectivity in remote parts of Zimbabwe where sparse populations make it uneconomic for mobile phone companies to install towers. The company’s technology allows broadband signals to be beamed down to earth in places where there is limited infrastructure on the ground, or it would expensive or difficult to put in.

Zimbabwe has an average internet speed of just 30 megabits per second (Mbps). By comparison, Starlink satellites can deliver internet speeds of up to 200Mbps – six times faster.

The technology is not cheap, however. In Nigeria, for instance, the Starlink kit – dish and router – and installation cost approximately US$600 upfront, with a monthly subscription fee of about US$43. The average wage for a Zimbabwean worker is just below US$200, and only a few can afford the service if non-governmental organisations and the government do not invest in the technology to bring connectivity to underserved populations.

Internet services in Zimbabwe are some of the most expensive in Africa, and many hope Starlink’s arrival will force down prices.


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Politics

Zambian President fires Information Minister amid rising tensions over a collapsing economy

Chushi Kasanda


THE embattled Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has terminated Chushi Kasanda’s appointment as Information and Media Minister, replacing her with UPND spokesperson and Southern Province Minister Cornelius Mweetwa.

The President has also removed Dr Anna Songolo from the office of Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries and has further appointed Thabo Kawana as Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary.


Meanwhile, President Hichilema has appointed Dr Ron Mwambwa as Auditor General, subject to ratification by the National Assembly.

According to a statement issued by State House Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka, Monday, the President has appointed Princess Kasune as Central Province Minister after transferring Credo Nanjuwa to be Minister for Southern Province


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Politics

Zimbabwean ruling party labels EU withdrawal of electoral body funding as a none-event




HARARE – Zanu PF has scoffed at the European Union’s decision to withdraw a US$5 million funding for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) following the contested August general election describing the move as a non-event.

The ruling party further said the government is capable of funding ZEC without any help.

ZEC was set up as an independent election monitor by the constitution.

Last week, the EU announced that it was withdrawing funds following the conclusion of the polls which were denounced by the EU, Carter Center, SADC, AU Electoral Observer Missions (EOM) in their preliminary reports.

In response, Zanu PF Acting Director of Information Farai Marapira said, “Responding to questions on the intention of ZEC funding withdrawal by the European Union, Zanu PF wishes to make it abundantly clear that it respects the decisions of the EU as an independent body.


“On the same note, Zanu PF is cognizant of the fact that ZEC is a constitutional body funded by the government through the treasury. Withdrawals of any and all additional funding remains a non-event.

“The EU commission is an independent entity which has got its rights to make its own decisions and if they chose to do a rescission of their funding that’s their own decision it is not a serious matter for us to consider or to look at.

“ZEC is a constitutionally mandated organization and the government has an obligation to fund all the activities of ZEC and we are capable of doing that by ourselves so whether the EU chooses to fund or not to fund is neither here nor there with us it’s a non-event,” Marapira said.

The decision by the EU follows demands for a rerun by the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) which has described the elections as a gigantic fraud.

Zanu PF’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa won the election with 52.6 percent ahead of opposition leader Nelson Chamisa who got 44 percent.


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Politics

Ignatius Chombo’s ally Memory Mucherahowa says “Zim football is now run by Zanu PF”

Memory Mucherahowa


THE United Kingdom-based former Zimbabwe national football team player and Dynamos captain Memory ‘Gwenzi’ Mucherahowa who is related former Zanu PF cabinet Minister Ignatius Chombo and the late ex Dynamos Chairman Richard Chiminya says Zanu PF has destroyed soccer in the country and everything else – people’s lives, families and the nation.

As a result, the ruling party must be removed from power for the country to go forward.

In a live Facebook interview with prominent broadcaster Ezra Tshisa Sibanda, the straight-talking Mucherahowa, known for use of juju that got him the nickname Gwenzi – while emphasising he wasn’t a political activist but someone whose life has been ruined by politics, said Zanu PF has now captured local football teams, particularly Dynamos and also Highlanders through Sakunda sponsorship.

Mucherahowa is one of Chamisa’s big supporters.

Explaining his desire to become Dynamos chairman in future, Mucherahowa said he can’t join the team currently because “it’s now Zanu PF”.

He said Sakunda is fronted by business mogul Kuda Tagwirei but is allegedly owned by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, hence football is now run by Zanu PF.

He also further said there were also other football clubs like FC Platinum and Ngezi Platinum in Zimbabwe also influenced by the ruling party.

He said Caps United owned by Zanu PF Murehwa West MP Farai Jere is also a ruling party project.

Mucherahowa, who won many titles with Dynamos and the Soccer Star of the Year in 1994, added that Zimbabwe is now unlivable as a country as Zanu PF has reduced it to ashes.

“Zanu PF has destroyed football, families, lives – everything,” Mucherahowa said.

He said due to this, he is not coming back to Zimbabwe anytime soon unless Zanu PF is gone.Mucherahowa said if he were to return home after criticising Zanu PF like this, he will be killed.


“They are killers, they have killed many people,” he said.

The legendary midfielder, who had a stint in Belgium and went to Argentina to try to join South African football legend Doctor Khumalo at Ferro Carril Oeste in 1995, said things must now change as “nothing really works in Zimbabwe”.

In his book, Zimbabwe legend Memory Mucherahowa has defended claims made in his autobiography that former club Dynamos encouraged the use of juju.

“There are so many things happening in African football which people don’t know about so I decided to share my experiences with the fans.

“I don’t know whether it [juju] works but when I was doing it, it was because it was part of the package of playing football.”

As captain of the club, Mucherahowa reveals in the book that it was his duty to make sure the juju rituals were followed.

“It was all about survival because we had families to feed and sometimes we’d end up doing things we didn’t believe in nor understand.

“I’m not saying juju works but it was part of football when I was playing and I’m sure it’s part of football even today.”

Mucherahowa, who retired in 2001 after captaining Dynamos for eight years, said he hopes that other players will speak up about the use of juju within the African game.


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