Since the beginning of November, POTRAZ and the Ministry of ICT’s announcements and statutes about the 2024 Cyber and Data Protection Act have left the Zimbabwean internet both confused and outraged, introducing the need for Data protection officers, along with their training and licensing everywhere from a large Econet-sized company to a simple person with a 50-person WhatsApp group. The confusing backtracking in the following week over which fees are mandatory and which are not made it even more confusing. But one thing became clear:  POTRAZ and the ministry clearly seem to have dollar signs in their eyes with this new statute. And it all brings one simple thought to our mind:

Dear Ministry of ICT and PORTRAZ, you both could be making much more money if you bothered to utilize the opportunities in your area of influence rather than nickel and dime Zimbabweans with laws that don’t make sense.

There IS a need for data protection laws in Zimbabwe.

Now let’s start by making one thing clear here: Zimbabwe is in dire need of a cybersecurity overhaul. Not too long ago Techzim was reporting on how our country ranked third on a list of countries with the most cyber attacks. Whether that was accurate or not can be debated but considering every year since 2020 there tends to be a big data breach or hack story including a big company, university, or other institution that you would think better safeguards their digital assets, it’s not an understatement to say that there needs to be a countrywide improvement to digital and electronic security. As such the Cyber and Data Security Act is very much a necessity and a step forward in our nation when it comes to taking protective measures against data theft and cybercrime. Making there be mandatory statutes and measurements that make large corporations and individuals take measures to protect data is also a step in the right direction as well, as there can at least be a certain level of defense protocols that can be widely available for making people aware of how to remain secure and protect user and corporate data.

But this recent requirement is clearly more about the money.

However, the way this is being implemented is clearly more a measure to make money than solving our country’s lack of cybersecurity practices. Both POTRAZ and the Ministry of ICT had ample could have worked with relevant local firms that offer cybersecurity services and consultancy. I find it impossible that none were willing to come forward and draft other guidelines, best practices, or rules meant to help every Zimbabwean that POTRAZ could then share for free. A move that seems more tailored to actually improving everyone’s security than just filling someone’s pocket. Not to mention build goodwill in a way that would make people more receptive to other regulations which require people dolling out funds. Instead, the current route was taken, and most people have completely disregarded whatever security benefits it may bring and have focused on the money. It all shows the shortsighted approach the ministry and POTRAZ are taking, where clearly quick cash is the goal. And that shortsighted nature is dismally ironic considering both are government extensions that are supposed to deal with implications of the long-term future, as technology inherently always affects that.

The Government could be making more money through direct and less dodgy ways if they invested in Zim’s ICT Potential.

Now look, we get it, due to the country’s economic situation and… other reasons it’s well known that basically every ministry in Zimbabwe has gained a bit of an… “Entrepreneurial Spirit” when it comes to needing to find ways that also make money. This is partially why Zesa and our energy ministry sell electricity to neighboring countries sometimes (when they have no business doing so). However what’s sad about POTRAZ and the Ministry of ICT is that a little investment in low-hanging fruits in the country’s ICT field could easily create the cash cows that both are clearly looking for, except this time they wouldn’t be stealing from the little people have.

A lot of these are moves we mentioned last year, when Hon Minister Mavetera was inducted as the country’s ICT  Minister, and that’s because ICT or tech in general has so much potential to be a gold mine that it’s almost crazy how the government isn’t taking better advantage of them. Let’s go back to POTRAZ and what that “PO” in their name stands for – Postal Services. It’s borderline embarrassing how our shipping and mass transit services still aren’t up to standard, because if they were done right, they would be a huge step to boosting trade in this country, especially for small independent buyers and sellers, which is basically EVERYONE these days. Just look at all the malls and boutique shops in Harare. All those people have lots to sell but are limited by physical distance, as there are clearly customers who want those goods in other cities, yet people have to rely on putting things on a bus or other, more expensive shipping methods to get their products out of the capital, something which often just makes a lot of sellers not bother. Now if a more standard, cheaper and trustworthy method that has the NRZ as its backbone would be an option, everyone from independent sellers to online stores could have a much stronger nationwide presence and actually make more money. Money which is also going to postal services, thus making the government more money.

Besides postal services here’s a lightly harder yet still important avenue to explore: so many Zimbabweans are eligible for remote work, yet so many of them don’t bother to get into it because of all the red tape around sanctions that makes payment services like Wise, PayPal, Payoneer etc either not offer their services here or offer more limited versions of said services. Yet with enough courting it’s been shown that a lot of these companies can bend or break rules. So why not work with local banks and companies like Ecocash to specifically court one of these services and open a whole avenue of work for Zimbabweans, while bringing in more money (which of course can be taxed fairly please) and outright enjoy the benefits of being called geniuses for pushing our country forward like that? It’s actually possible if you try it. Likely nowhere near as easy as I described it fair enough, but still very possible.

And again, there’s still lower-hanging fruit to try which can still make you money. The ministry and POTRAZ can continue pushing partnerships with remittance services and keep making it widely known, something they’ve started with World Remit but haven’t exactly nailed either due to the aforementioned marketing aspect. Partnering with more established companies like Musungo to help their expansion or make them hire more interns from local colleges could help build better companies that the government can make more money from. Maybe use the links you still have with Huawei or whoever you met at that Russian summit to actually give young entrepreneurs exposure to better resources and ideas that they can use here to start companies under the ministry’s incubation. There are tons of chances to do something beneficial and make money here. Taxing people for WhatsApp literally seems even more stupid when you look at the available opportunities.