Since the directive to register SIM cards was issued by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) NetOne maintained in the press that their subscribers were registered. Statements like the following one in The Herald of 22 June were common:
NetOne managing director Mr Reward Kangai said the pioneer mobile phone company had always stayed “ahead of the game” as it had always registered its customers as soon as they bought a SIM card.
“We were the first to do that even before the directive by Potraz, we have always been way-way ahead. Our customers always filled in forms that captured their national ID number, full name and address and they would sign the document to confirm they would abide by terms on the declaration form,” said Mr Kangai.
The implication was that NetOne didn’t need to get into action to comply. NetOne gave the impression that they’d always been in compliance with this directive even before it existed. Who would doubt NetOne with its humble subscriber numbers (last reported at around 600,000).
Lately the statements have been changing. In fact NetOne is outright telling its subscribers to go register or risk disconnection. Take this statement in yesterday’s Sunday Mail for example:
The sales and marketing director of NetOne, Mrs Memory Ndoro-Mandiya, insisted that NetOne subscribers should visit the stand (at the ongoing Harare Agric Show) to register their lines to meet the August 31 2010 deadline for registration.
Or this article on Nehanda Radio just a few weeks ago in which the managing director says subscribers should register before their lines are disconnected, adding that “reconnection would be costly.”
If I were a NetOne subscriber this’d be quite confusing. I’d (understandably) be feeling misled too.
Who knows, maybe they got a call from POTRAZ!
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