ZIMBABWE

STATEMENT BY His Excellency MR CHRISTOPHER MUSHOHWE
MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference
Honourable Ministers
Your Excellencies Ambassadors and High Commissioners,
Heads of Delegations
The Secretary General of the ITU
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen

Thank you Mr. Chairman for affording me this opportunity to address the Assembly. I wish to join previous speakers in congratulating you on your appointment to chair this important conference. I have no doubt that your able leadership will ensure successful and fruitful deliberations of the very important matters that are before us. I also wish to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Government of Turkey for the warm reception and hospitality which we have experienced since our arrival in this historic and beautiful city of Antalya. May I also take this opportunity on behalf of my Government and indeed on my behalf, to convey deepest sympathies to the Government and people of Turkey on the recent passing away of your former Prime Minister.

Mr. Chairman, my Government started liberalising the Telecommunication sector in the mid 1990s with the process of unbundling the former Post and Telecommunications Corporation. The unbundling process ended in year 2000 and culminated in the formation of four separate entities. To date my country boasts of three mobile cellular networks, two of which are privately owned companies, two fixed telecommunication networks and a number of private companies in Internet Access Provision and Public Data Communication. We also set up an Independent Regulatory Authority to promote competition and create a level playing field in the sector whilst protecting the interests of other stakeholders such as consumers and the Government. Furthermore, my country also set up a Universal Service Fund with the objective of pooling resources for the deployment of communication services in under-serviced areas, especially remote and rural areas.

As is the case with many fixed network operators in developing countries, one of the two fixed network Operators is making stead progress in modernizing and upgrading its network from analogue to digital. My Government is also at an advanced stage of partially privatising the State owned fixed and mobile companies with a view to bringing on board a strategic partner.

Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, when my Government liberalised the sector, it set ambitious growth targets for the sector. To date however, the growth of the sector has been less than satisfactory mainly due to the current illegal sanctions imposed on my country. These sanctions have made it difficult for our Operators to access lines of credit which are necessary for the expansion and modernisation of their networks. Mr. Chairman, it is common knowledge that universal access to ICTs is a human right. It is very unfortunate when those countries that shout loudest in advocating for human rights are the same that are actively working to deny our people access to ICTs.

In spite of these set-backs I am glad to report that our Operators have had to rely on their own resources and new development partners who have started working with our Operators in expanding and modernising their networks. Our mobile operators in particular have made tremendous progress in expanding their networks along all our major highways and into remote, rural areas of the country. Furthermore, it is our hope that within the coming year our mobile operators will start providing 3G services.

Mr. Chairman, convergence of technologies and services has demanded that we have a re-look at our Telecommunication Policies with a view to reviewing our regulatory and licensing regimes to take into account recent developments in the field of Information and Communication technologies.

It is my Government’s hope that the ITU will continue to play a pivotal role in the development of Telecommunications. Furthermore, it is our hope that the ITU will remain focussed on promoting regulations and recommendations which can guide member states in achieving universal access.

Mr. Chairman, my Country participates actively in a number of ITU activities and programs. For instance, in the past two years Zimbabwe has hosted five ITU related workshops. Zimbabwe is also one of the first countries to implement COSITU, the ITU cost model. All our mobile and fixed telecommunication operators are now using COSITU. Furthermore, with effect from April this year, interconnection charges among all our public fixed and mobile telecommunications operators became cost-based and derived from the COSITU model. In this regard, my country has been sharing its experiences in implementing COSITU with other interested sub-regional member states.

In the same vein of co-operation my country is actively engaged with fellow Member States in our region in the establishment of broadband infrastructure for the Eastern and Southern African countries.

Mr. Chairman, my country will continue to actively participate in and support the work and activities of the Union. In addition my country will continue to strive to harness appropriate Information and Communication Technologies in fostering its socio-economic development and general welfare of its people.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, it is my sincere hope that this conference will set the pace for the Union and its Member States to take concrete measures to address the issue of the digital divide. I wish you fruitful deliberations during this important conference.

I thank you for your attention.