DELAYS by the State Procurement Board (SPB) in approving and awarding tenders were impacting negatively on communication companies’ attempts to implement their business plans, a Cabinet minister has said. OUR CORRESPONDENT
Information and Communication Technology and Postal and Courier Services minister Webster Shamu said the delays had affected NetOne, one of the leading communication companies in the country.
Speaking in Bulawayo last week, Shamu expressed concern that communication companies were failing to compete with their rivals in the private sector owing to SPB bureaucracy tendencies.
“We have a problem where the SPB takes time to award tenders to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies like NetOne,” Shamu said during the commissioning of the new NetOne ZITF pavilion at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).
He added: “The companies may come up with a good idea, but that idea is quickly copied by their rivals before the SPB approves their tenders. We are going to discuss that with the chief secretary and President (Robert) Mugabe and try to find out if the SPB is overwhelmed by their job quickly.”
Shamu said there was too much competition in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and because of that, business plans needed to be implemented urgently before rivals copied them.
Speaking at the same event, NetOne managing director Reward Kangai said the company had entered into a partnership with the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Corporation for their clients to purchase Zesa prepaid tokens using the One Wallet service.
“Since we launched One Wallet in December 2013, we have not looked back,” said Kangai.
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“In the comfort of your home, you can now purchase prepaid Zesa tokens. That demonstration will be done for you in the stand.”
