It’s an established fact that Econet dominates the telecoms industry in Zimbabwe. Actually, it’s almost an unhealthy monopoly that they enjoy and seemingly abuse. Over 97% of the local mobile money market is controlled by Ecocash whilst over 65% of the data market belongs to Econet. You would think that their service provision is top-notch due to that dominance but it’s getting worse by the day. For some years now people have been putting up with Econet’s shortcomings but even a worm will turn. This year it seems a breaking point has been reached.
Ecocash
It’s a stark reality that the vast majority are forced to rely on Ecocash to pay for basic goods and services. Most people receive income via the platform and have no liberty to cash out as that erodes the value of the little they would have received. From as far back as 2017 we have seen incessant instances of system malfunctions or downtimes for the Ecocash platform. Noteworthy cases are July 2017, 3 July 2018, 22 February 2019, 10 March 2019, 2 April 2019, and many other times. The proximity of those 2019 incidents barely a quarter into the year is telling. Money is deducted from people’s accounts as they try to transact – though the intended transactions don’t sail through. There are many reported cases of people whose over-deducted amounts have never been reimbursed.
Yesterday (9 April) I purchased RTGS$1 SMS bundles (that was after several prior trials with the transaction failing to complete). You can imagine my disappointment later finding out that instead of RTGS$1, RTGS$4 had actually been deducted from my wallet. Yesterday many others took to Econet’s Facebook page to complain about similar cases. It has also been noticed that sending the exact same amount of money to the same person but on different occasions can deduct different charges. There is something terribly wrong with the Ecocash platform – I can’t help but feel we are being duped somehow.
Network Coverage
Aside from Econet having the highest number of base stations in the country network coverage is increasingly becoming erratic. This is widespread with people in urban areas often struggling to do basic thing such as calls, SMS, let alone connecting to the internet. For rural areas it’s even worse as you can travel for hundreds of kilometres with absolutely no coverage – I witnessed this in the Matabeleland North and South regions. This is a cause for concern as it is possible to experience the aforementioned problems with a cell tower in your vicinity.
Customer Service
Econet used to be very engaging on their social media platforms, always seeing to it they respond to every concern. Lately, things have changed, rather, they now ignore you whether you post a complaint or inbox them. Yesterday after my situation I posted and inboxed but still no response. A visit to their Facebook page shows they are actually going as far as hiding some of the people’s posts. The irony – seeing the posts and messages but choosing to ignore them. Their customer care line is at best just a formality as I haven’t come across someone who can attest to being answered. Customer service is the backbone of a company, it’s its lifeline but Econet has clearly shown utter disregard for customer concerns.
Data Services
Due to the erratic network coverage, data bundles can expire without being used. There are also a lot of mysterious occurrences where data vanishes. Yo Mix which had now become a haven for those looking to purchase data cheaply is now riddled with issues. The Yo Mix platform has also had its significant share of doldrums with some reporting that the service has been down for weeks now. I recall a ludicrous example where someone purchased a 50 Mb bundle and immediately turned off their phone, upon turning it on again later the first message they got was that the bundle had been depleted. If you try to report your complaint to get answers and assistance you are treated with deaf ears.
All the inconveniences that Econet has caused, all the unreimbursed monies, and so on, are taking a toll on the citizens. Zimbabwe is battling with a whole range of problems and here we are being short-changed by a mobile service provider. It’s even more disappointing that the company executives never bother to hold press conferences to iron out issues. They choose to remain out of the public eye leaving people to wallow in stress & anguish. The current Ecocash woes should be a top priority. People don’t have the luxury to just allow their hard-earned money to be taken away from them like that. Econet must put its house in order as soon as possible. We all understand that Zimbabwe has challenges, we live in it. A little communication on the challenges that Econet is facing would go a long way in customer relations if nothing can be done about the service we are currently getting.
Cant make sense of the “Tensions” thing. But seems Econet has overly been engaging with the media. In the age of citizen journalism everybody wants to be addressed by Econet, surely it cant be when will they work if they focus on talking not resolving issues. Off course emotions are high here, but surely to say they do not respond its a topic for another day.
PS remember to put a subscription button to your blog, keep pushing and diversify do not focus on Econet only its not the only thing happening in Zimbabwe.
Thank you, your feedback is solid and grounded. We appreciate how you look at both sides and rightly point out that emotions play a big part in the narrative. We’ve made Clive aware of all comments relating to the article and we as an organisation can always grow from feedback. We do offer a subscribe option that can be seen on your side-bar or as a pop-up depending the device you’re viewing from. If these options are not convenient for you we’d be happy to add you to our email list.
It wouldn’t be a fair conclusive argument to say people are being dupped. Effective journalism calls for thorough qualitative & quantitative research. I received my cash back as reimbursement for a failed transaction & many close by. If you are in bussiness am sure you would understand that RBZ is not assisting these companies in FOREX issues then what do you expect from such a position as a journalist. The challenge we have in Zimbabwe is that we redirect our frustrations to companies instead of confronting the government of Zimbabwe on issues that are causing untold suffering to an ordinary Zimbo
Why not talk about how Econet has and is helping in issues to do with Cyclone IDAI, recently netone donated 2 million to football and you said nothing about it😬.
Rethink along these lines & you will be a good journalist.
Thank you for getting in touch and sharing your opinion. Clive in particular and StartUpBiz, in general, have praised Econet and others on their positive work on many occasions. Your feedback is valued and has been forwarded to Clive to note in future how he can write articles that better serve you the reader.
As much as you received your reimbursement there are many who haven’t . You would be amazed to know that there are prior articles on this platform that have touched on the great things Strive Masiyiwa and Econet have done. So don’t misconstrue the highlighting of grievances as merely emotional and baseless…
Thanks for raising pertinent issues. As an elder brother my advise to you is that, as an upcoming entrepreneur, Business is not about bringing down the next guy to emerge the winner. Its about forming synergies so that you pull each other up. Of course you can create a name for yourself in one day by damning Econet but in the long run you got more to lose than gain. Engage, Ask, Understand, Read widely and Conclude its good for a promising entrepreneur, .
Thanks for the feedback and your view is appreciated. It should be noted that Clive has written many articles in praise of Econet. All feedback is appreciated and this has been forwarded to him.
Raising the issues people are bemoaning about doesn’t look to me like an agenda to bring anyone down. These aren’t things that were just drawn from thin air. They are happening & can be substantiated…
Hi Clive, good feedback though not substantiated by facts, Ecocash has a tariff sheet for all transactions, how is it possible that people are charged differently for the same figure. Also remember Mthuli is on a rampage claiming 2% on each transaction. Be careful the crowd mentality will drown your promising career.
We appreciate your time and feedback on our articles. Feedback has been forwarded to Clive. Thank you again.
Just because you have never been charged differently doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened to others. That’s a limited way of assessing something. Tarrifs exist but that doesn’t mean system hiccups can’t happen to not adhere to them at times. That’s why instances of people getting over-deductions during transactions is happening despite the tarrifs you talking of. The issue is about system malfunctions that occur in various forms…