Here is how I see the situation – some people elected a few people from among them, stewards of some sort, to look after their interests. However, just like the family with a guard dog whose duty it is to safeguard the family’s assets, the dog will sometimes take it too far.
If you’ve ever owned a dog, you know that sometimes you have to wrestle the thing as it tries to bite your guests. You’re like, “It’s okay Danger, he’s not a threat,” but Danger still tries to rip your guest’s calf off.
I feel like the same is happening with the people of Zimbabwe and their government when it comes to Starlink. We’re like “It’s okay Govy, we want this guest,” but the govt is is still trying to rip Starlink’s calves off.
“It’s not allowed to sell or use Starlink in Zimbabwe and police will be mounting raids and arrests soon,” said a Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) official. That’s Govy barking up a storm.
Although the official said “soon” the raids are apparently already underway. We have heard a few reports of Starlink kits being confiscated.
If you asked the government, this is all for our good. They are protecting us from a threat, they are ensuring Zimbabwe is not fleeced by Elon Musk.
Stickler for the laws
After all, Starlink has not complied with the country’s laws and so cannot be allowed to operate and jeopardise the operations of internet service providers that paid their millions to the government and allow for legal intercepts etc. We shall look into this fully sometime soon.
We kind of understand all that but what’s painfully in our conscious minds is that we are paying arms and legs for internet access and Starlink could help lower prices for some. It’s as simple as that and so we’re not trying to hear all this “They gotta play by our rules” talk.
The same story down south
In South Africa, Elon Musk’s birth country, Starlink is yet to be licensed. Starlink has high hopes it will be operational in the country soon but many wonder if that’s misplaced confidence.
The South African govy is barking up a storm about how Starlink has to play by their rules. Exactly like how the Zim govy is jawing.
Many believe the major roadblock in South Africa is the need for Starlink to give up 30% shareholding of their local operations to Black Economic Empowerment groups. ICASA, their regulator confirmed that that indeed is the case.
My South African friends, we feel for you. We have had many qualms with our govt about its policies, including the ones keeping Starlink from officially operating here.
However, we thank God that we no longer require that foreign companies give up shareholding to locals. That had a devastating negative impact on our ability to attract investment.
I hope your government understands this soon. Otherwise, you will wake up to find that your northern neighbor has become a better investment destination, just like what happened to us.
Rebellious populace
Anyway, just like in Zimbabwe, the South Africans are illegally importing Starlink kits. The service is just that compelling for many that they are willing to go down this route. Of course, the govts won’t have this.
Potraz in Zimbabwe is following in ICASA’s footsteps. ICASA threatened those that were (are) importing Starlink kits.
Now in South Africa, some of these importers were registered ISPs and they were threatened with loss of broadband access, confiscation of equipment and possible criminal charges. Sound familiar?
Check out this quote from a small business owner from Inyoni Village outside the South African city of Nelspruit who was importing Starlink kits,
I was warned…that telecoms inspectors will visit all provincial businesses that provide Starlink services without registration. Something about fines and charges was mentioned in the call for anyone violating telecom laws
For the people or the party?
If you asked, I still think most people have no idea what Starlink is but of the few that know about it, the vast majority supports the service coming to Zimbabwe. Some believe it will flip the internet service provision subsector on its head but some think it will only be a good-to-have option.
That doesn’t matter because Starlink is not licensed to operate in Zimbabwe.
The only solid bit of information we have about the service coming to Zimbabwe comes from Dandemutande (an ISP) announcing that they will be partnering to bring the service this year. They have been coy with details of this partnership though.
We are left asking, are the Zimbabwean and South African governments doing this for the people they represent?
In both countries, ordinary people believe Starlink is an affordable and reliable alternative. Now, if the South Africans are claiming that, imagine how much more true it is in Zimbabwe.
I heard some South Africans say their internet service providers are too expensive and unreliable due to record power blackouts and inadequacy of infrastructure in rural areas. Tell me that doesn’t sound like every single Zimbabwean.
So, the families are saying give us Starlink but the dogs are saying that particular guest should not be welcome. Well, in these cases, the dogs are massive and aggressive Pitbulls and the families have to sneak the guest in through the back as the dog stands guard at the gate.
Are we asking for too much?
Are we asking the governments to make exceptions and allow Starlink to operate? If so, are we sure we are prepared to allow our govts to pick and choose when to set aside the law of the land?
If you reprimand your dog every time it scares what it thinks is an intruder off, it’s only a matter of time before it allows every Tom just waltz in.
You could argue that they do this already so at the very least we get something we want this time around. You could also argue that the goal of improving connectivity in our countries necessitates this favouritism.
These kinds of conversations are happening both here and in South Africa. We shall see where the chips fall in due time, I guess.-techzim