Author: Alvine Chaparadza

  • Judge Dismisses Former NetOne’s CEO Application For Refusal Of Further Remand

    Judge Dismisses Former NetOne’s CEO Application For Refusal Of Further Remand

    Former Netone Boss, Reward Kangai has been dealt a slight blow after his application for refusal of further remand was dismissed in the magistrate court. Mr. Kangai is facing  20 counts of criminal abuse of office and concealing personal interests in business transactions conducted with Netone. The alleged abuses range from failing to follow procurement procedures to the advance payment of rentals (which is contrary to Netone’s policy) and many more.

    However, some people regard the criminal charges Mr. Kangai is facing as a smear campaign by Minister of Information Communication Technology and Cyber Security, Supa Mandiwanzira whom he doesn’t see eye to eye with. Their disagreement started when Mr. Kangai sent a letter to President Mnangagwa and to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Committee (ZACC) accusing ICT Minister Supa Mandiwanzira of corruption. In his letter, Kangai made many accusations, claiming that Mandiwanzira is building a cartel in the ICT sector through abuse of office among other things.

    But in an unlikely turn of events,  Minister Mandiwanzira was cleared of those allegations and ZACC turned on Kangai himself accusing him of the aforementioned charges.

    Netone story with its CEO’s

    The state-owned Mobile Network Operator is slowly gaining a bad reputation about ‘boardroom politics’ as it is currently embroiled in another one which has seen its CEO, Lazarus Muchenje suspended for almost a month now. I suppose President Mnangagwa has to do something with Netone so that it spends less time engaged in boardroom politics and more in trying to catch up with Econet.

  • Facebook, WhatsApp And Instagram Went Down, Users Around The World Left Frustrated

    Facebook, WhatsApp And Instagram Went Down, Users Around The World Left Frustrated

    Facebook and its other social media platforms, Instagram and WhatsApp, temporarily went down late on Monday in the US, Canada and various other parts of the world.

    During the service outage, some users were unable to log in while others only failed to post anything or communicate with friends. Although the issue has since been fixed, Facebook has not revealed any specific details about the bug which caused the outage or whether it posed any security risks or not.

    The service outage reportedly started at around 21:00 GMT as per the downdetector.com website, and it mostly affected users based in North America and European nations. A majority of the affected users experienced a downtime of around 90 minutes, however, it was not limited to a particular region and was recorded to a different extent across the globe.

    The moral of the story

    The moral of the story, so to speak, is that the hegemony of Facebook (it owns Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger) in the social media sphere is one that has to be looked with a worrying eye because if Facebook is hit with a cyber attack it virtually puts the social media world to a halt.

  • Government To Recalculate Interest On The RBZ Debt It Assumed 3 Years Ago As It Suspects Being Overcharged By Lenders

    Government To Recalculate Interest On The RBZ Debt It Assumed 3 Years Ago As It Suspects Being Overcharged By Lenders

    Just 3 years ago the government bankrolled the central bank by taking over its $1,4 billion debt in order to recapitalize the bank and resume its function on a clean slate. To facilitate this, the government in turn borrowed from the domestic market through Treasury Bills (TBs) which are short-term negotiable instruments.  At that time the analysts warned that the government had no capacity to assume the debt as the country was (and still is) already overburdened with foreign debt.

    With how large the debt it was assuming and the backlash it caused with analysts one could have been led to think that the government exercised due diligence before taking over the debt but apparently it didn’t. According to a report by The Herald the government is going to hire a consultant to recalculate the interest of the TBs and see if it overpaid its creditors. And any debtor who is deemed to have overcharged the government will have to revert back some money to the government and possibly face litigation. Speaking about the issue, the government stated;

    The consultant shall be responsible for identifying creditors who could have overcharged and paid interest, recalculate the interest and enforce the recovery of such overpaid interest… This could be done through the application of law or technical financial expertise lenders may have violated in the process of charging interest to Government.

    As this arrangement was done during the presidency of Robert Mugabe, which was marked by gross mismanagement, it stands to reason that little to no due diligence was practiced to study whether the government was accessing credit through TBs at fair rates. Whilst it’s commendable that the new government want to try to rectify the past mistakes, it may inadvertently scare away prospective lenders.

  • Vehicle Tracking Systems Comparison: Econet ConnectedCar Vs PowerTrack

    Vehicle Tracking Systems Comparison: Econet ConnectedCar Vs PowerTrack

    Internet of things (IoT) is one of the current buzzwords doing the rounds. One of the biggest problems the logistics industry faces is the tracking of a fleet. With vehicle tracking solutions powered by IoT devices, a vehicle tracking system (VTS) is not only implementable but also economical.

    The technology is still evolving and spreading, and as VTS providers find many use cases, IoT will turn out to be the lifeline of the fleet management industry. In that respect, I set out to compare which of the two known brands in VTS in Zimbabwe, Econet ConnectedCar and PowerTrack, offers the most attractive package. Alas, I figured out that the brands both offer similar VTS capabilities but you might as well get acquainted with what they offer

    CapabilitiesPowerTrackEconet ConnectedCar
    Real Time Vehicle TrackingYesYes
    Driver Behavior monitoring YesYes
    Geo Fencing/ The vehicle’s location in an areaYesYes
    Trip Summary ReportsYesYes
    Panic ButtonYesYes
    Multiple Driver Identification (knowing which driver is driving)YesYes
    Monitor car over a smartphoneYesYes

    On face value, I’m sure price comparison is the one thing that draws a line between the two brands in VTS but sadly PowerTrack didn’t respond my calls to tell me what they charge from the initial installation to monthly subscriptions. Anyway, Econet ConnectedCar charges $50 installation fee and $20 monthly subscription.

  • YouTube Now Rolling Out The Stories Feature That Looks Exactly Like Instagram’s

    YouTube Now Rolling Out The Stories Feature That Looks Exactly Like Instagram’s

    According to Android Police, YouTube has been testing a new ‘Stories’ feature for some weeks that looks and works similarly to the identically-named service on WhatsApp and Instagram. While the test was only limited to very few users initially, the company is now apparently rolling it out to a wider user-base. Alas at the moment its available for IOS users who would have upgraded their YouTube app.

    Image Courtesy of Android Police

    From what we can see, the Stories section in YouTube looks a lot like that of Instagram’s in terms of User Interface, but one of the ways one would be able to distinguish between the two is through the red-ring (seen around BB ki Vines‘ profile picture) that surrounds new Stories on YouTube.

    YouTube is the latest online platform to have jumped on the so-called ‘Stories’ bandwagon after WhatsApp and Instagram and Facebook popularized the feature over the past couple of years. It was originally introduced by Snapchat back in 2016 and has since been introduced by many of the aforementioned social media services, among others. With this feature, YouTube is likely to be trying to increase user engagement on its video sharing platform than just following in the footsteps of other social media platforms.

    Not much is known about the feature on YouTube’s platform, but with YouTube rolling it out to more users, it is probably only a matter of time before it’s turned on universally in the days to come.

  • Banks Performed Way Better Than Expected In The First 6 Months Of This Year: Here Is Each Bank’s Profit

    Banks Performed Way Better Than Expected In The First 6 Months Of This Year: Here Is Each Bank’s Profit

    Most banks registered profits during the first 6 months of 2018. Better yet, many witnessed percentage growth in their profit in the first 6 months to 2018 as compared to the first 6 months of 2017.

    Although bankers have complained about an adverse economic environment, their financial statements show that they have managed to shrug the ‘negative energy’ off. However, virtually all banks owe a substantial chunk of their profits to the corresponding increase of non-interest income (i.e income derived primarily from fees including deposit and transaction fees, insufficient funds fees, monthly account service charges, inactivity fees, etc.) in the first 6 months of 2018. Check the profits the banks racked in below;

    Banks6 Months Profits to June 20186 Months Profits to June 2017Percentange Increase/Decrease)
    AgriBank$4,1 million ??
    Barclays$13,6 million$9,5 million 43%
    CBZ$34,3 million$11,9 million 187.09%
    NedBank$4,3 million??
    NMB$9 million$3,5155.46%
    Stanbic$16,4 million$12,8 million28.13%
    ZB bank $9,3 million$8.1 million14.52%
    CABS$42 million??
    National Building Society$567 113$(633 662)10.5%
    POSB$8.11 million?
    FBC$14,8 million??

    N.B-profits mean Profit After Tax

    N.B- CABS profits also includes profits of Old Mutual Zimbabwe Limited as whole

    N.B- The “?” mean that we currently don’t have information of that bank in that section

    N.B- This is not the complete list of banks, we are still waiting for financial statements from other banks like Steward Bank etc.

  • Bank Workers To Demonstrate Tomorrow Over Their Poor Wages And High Bank Fees Charged To Customers

    Bank Workers To Demonstrate Tomorrow Over Their Poor Wages And High Bank Fees Charged To Customers

    Despite recording enviable profits banks are reportedly not rewarding their human resources salary increments. This is according to what the bank workers representative, The Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers Union (Zibawu) told the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). It seems ZCTU has no time to lose to get their grievance addressed as it is doing a demonstration tomorrow at the People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB) headquarters.

    The accusation is stemming from the fact that despite making profits for the past couple of years, bank workers last had an increment of salaries 5 years ago. The Zimbabwe banking sector has a staff complement of about 4 000 workers and according to ZIBAWU, the least paid bank worker gets $636 per month.

    Part of ZCTU’s grievances is that banks are overcharging customers for their services. Hence, they are simultaneously “fighting a consumer battle”. I must say that I agree with ZCTU because you just have to look at the income statements of banks and see how much banks are earning from non-interest income (bank charges). Speaking to New Zimbabwe, (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa said;

    Banks are making super profits yet we are hearing that NMB has recorded a 155 percent increase in profits for half year, CBZ charging up to 15 percent interest rates. Many workers are losing homes, assets, and properties because of banks………Why is it that banks are making money when everyone else is struggling………We are fighting for the workers because banks are not increasing salaries. It’s been five years and no salary increase in most banks and in those five years, they have been making money……Tomorrow (Friday) we will be demonstrating at the People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB) headquarters… …..We are also fighting a consumer battle….Banks have been milking customers and making super profits in an environment where everyone else is suffering. At POSB, we are having that problem where they have been recording profits.

  • Chinese Firm To Install Surveillance Cameras In Harare

    Chinese Firm To Install Surveillance Cameras In Harare

    A report by Newsday says that President Mnangagwa has given his assent to the installation of surveillance cameras in some parts of Harare streets. On top of curbing road accidents, the surveillance cameras will also be used to curb crimes such as robberies, one way of contributing to the improvement of national security. The cameras are equipped with night vision meaning that they can record incidents even at the darkest hour. Speaking at the launch of the security products, Mnangagwa;

    Initiatives such as this one and the promotion of a broad array of IT applications will cumulatively contribute to the national security situation in the whole country. My government will, therefore, give you all the support you require

    When I hear words like surveillance I’m naturally reminded of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four book that talks about mass surveillance of citizens by the state. Many dimensions of surveillance are exploited by both government and private companies as in this case, Hikvision. From CCTV cameras capturing our images routinely, tracking our smartphones, biometric recorders, etc., are all used for various surveillance purposes.

    The need for camera surveillance is justified by Hikvision or the government citing the safety of citizens and control of anti-social elements. However, the task of Hikvision or the government to process the data (in this case, visual data) should be examined to protect our privacy.

  • Chiyangwa Asked Twitter To Shut Down An Account Impersonating Him: Can Twitter Really Do That?

    Chiyangwa Asked Twitter To Shut Down An Account Impersonating Him: Can Twitter Really Do That?

    On Monday Dr. Philip Chiyangwa reportedly asked Twitter to remove a certain Twitter Account/handle that was impersonating him. After being alerted by his relatives, Chiyangwa claims that he asked Twitter to shut down the fake Twitter account. Speaking to The Herald about the issue, Dr. Chiyangwa said;

    There have been posts for a while now under my name on Twitter and some relatives alerted me…… So I applied to shut down the Twitter account and cheers to the pretender

    Is it possible to ask Twitter to shut down Accounts impersonating you?…. Did Twitter shut down the Account?

    Now some people were wondering if it’s even possible for one to asks Twitter to take down a twitter account that’s impersonating you. The answer is, Yes you can and I can confirm that the Twitter account with the name Philip Chiyangwa is currently suspended. The ‘impersonating account’ was taken down because it violated Twitter rules. Twitter calls this violation or impersonating and misusing a username as ‘Username Squatting’. And Here is what Twitter say about ‘Username Squatting’;

    Username Squatting: You may not engage in ‘Username Squatting’. Some of the factors we take into consideration when determining whether conduct is username squatting include:

    • the number of accounts created;

    • the creation of accounts for the purpose of preventing others from using those account names;

    • the creation of accounts for the purpose of selling those accounts; and

    • the use of third-party content feeds to update and maintain accounts under the names of those third parties.

    I hope that with this knowledge those public figures who have fallen victim to ‘Username Squatting’ will engage with Twitter to shut down Twitter accounts that are impersonating them. It’s a way better alternative than to try to do damage control by denying they don’t have twitter accounts after controversial ‘Tweets’ are posted from impersonating accounts.

    How to contact Twitter telling them about Username Squatting

    If you have a Twitter account you simply need to send Direct Message to Twitter. But if you don’t have a Twitter account it’s a bit tricky to let Twitter know because Twitter doesn’t have a dedicated support platform (such as an email address). Therefore you have to first join Twitter and report your ‘Username Squatting’ issue.

  • Instagram Just Added New Security And Account Verification Features To Help Keep The Platform Safe

    Instagram Just Added New Security And Account Verification Features To Help Keep The Platform Safe

    Instagram has just started rolling out a number of security measures, making the platform safer for its billions of users. It is giving users access to more info on an account, the ability to apply for verification, and use third-party apps for two-factor authentication. Let’s take a closer look at each of these features:

    About this Account

    First and foremost, Instagram will provide you with a lot more insight into accounts that reach wide audiences. A new ‘About this Account’ section, accessible via a user’s profile, will inform you when someone joined the platform, account location, accounts with shared followers, ads being run by them, and more.

    Profile Verification

    Probably most important and awaited update comes in the form of requesting the iconic blue tick of a verified Instagram account. Verified accounts were previously restricted to public figures, brands and other major profiles until date but now they will become accessible to the general masses.

    You will be able to head to the Settings in your Instagram app to fill out a simple form, attach an identity proof, and await the result of your verification process.

    However, filling up the form doesn’t guarantee you a blue tick in your Instagram profile.

    2FA Authenticator App Support

    Finally, Instagram is extending the scope of its two-factor authentication feature beyond your phone number and will soon allow you to use third-party authenticator apps to log into your account. You no longer need to wait for the six-digit code to arrive in the message inbox only but you can now be able to use a third-party app like Google Authenticator to retrieve your code.

    Are these security features available for everyone yet?

    These security features are currently rolling out on iOS and should make their way to Android in the coming days.

  • Some Banks Have Blocked The ‘Swipe Into EcoCash’ Service: But Here Is A List Of Banks That Still Do It

    Some Banks Have Blocked The ‘Swipe Into EcoCash’ Service: But Here Is A List Of Banks That Still Do It

    There seems to be a secret war that’s going on between EcoCash and some few banks. Some banks including Stanbic and ZB Bank have blocked their customers to use the ‘Swipe into EcoCash service’. So now EcoCash has given out a list of banks that you can still do ‘Swipe into EcoCash’. Here are the banks;

    • Steward Bank
    • Standard Chartered Bank
    • National Building Society
    • Agribank
    • POSB
    • EcoBank
    • CBZ
    • BancABC
    • NMB
    • MetBank

    We don’t really know yet what’s the reason behind the blocking of the Swipe into EcoCash service by some banks. But the last time, banks in their totality, suspended the service it was something to do with the way the service is done technically.

  • EcoCash Collaborates With Mastercard To Introduce The ‘Scan+Pay’ Service That Makes It Way Faster To Make Payments

    EcoCash Collaborates With Mastercard To Introduce The ‘Scan+Pay’ Service That Makes It Way Faster To Make Payments

    Today EcoCash has collaborated with Mastercard to introduce a new payment service that enables EcoCash customers to make QR payments to merchants and billers through the EcoCash app. The payment service called Scan+Pay will allow EcoCash customers to scan a barcode image (QR code)  through the Ecocash app (in their phone) so that they can pay for goods at the checkout point.

    The Scan+Pay is enabled by Mastercard’s Masterpass QR, which is a secure payment solution system. The enablement of Masterpass Scan+Pay capability within the EcoCash app represents yet another important milestone in EcoCash’s digital payments journey.

    Scan+Pay- Step by Step guide

    First off you have to download the EcoCash mobile App on AppStore or Play store.

    • Launch the Ecocash application
    • Go to Make Payments & select QR Pay Option
    • Scan the merchant QR code displayed at merchant point-of-sale
    • Enters the transaction amount to initiate payment
    • Confirms the transaction with a PIN
    • Receives instant confirmation of successful funds transfer
    • Collects goods when the merchant receives payments notification

    Surely, we are aware of the prevailing cash shortages and simultaneously the drive to be a cashless economy. Well for companies they are facilitating cashless payments from customers in the back of incurring exorbitant costs of acquiring and maintaining POS devices.  But with the Scan+Pay companies invest so little in it than (they could spend) on POS devices. In a nutshell, the Scan+Pay is a threat to the existence of POS devices as it is a very cost-effective alternative.

    For ordinary Ecocash customers, they should be happy because, with Scan+Pay they are saved from entering many USSD codes to make payments, rather they can just scan a QR code using the EcoCash app and make the payment in fewer steps.

    Do you need an internet connection to use Scan+Pay?

    No, you don’t need data bundles to use the Scan+Pay service. As it happens, the EcoCash app is Zero rated so it means you don’t need data bundles to use it.

  • President Mnangagwa Made 234 Promises: ZimCitizensWatch Is A Platform To Track Them

    President Mnangagwa Made 234 Promises: ZimCitizensWatch Is A Platform To Track Them

    Now that the elections are over and we now have a new (old) President, people are waiting for him to live up to the promises he made in his party’s manifesto, the pledge card, and other pronouncements.

    In that regard, Sevio Institute has developed a platform called ZimCitizensWatch.org, where you can take track the fulfillment of promises the President made. According to ZimCitizensWatch Emmerson Mnangagwa has made 234 promises which he should fulfill.

    Let’s take a tour of the platform

    Upon entering the platform, you will be met by a page (as shown in the first picture below) where you will see a timer telling you the time ED Mnangwagwa has spent in office since his inauguration.

    The 234 promises are classified into 8 categories (as shown in the first picture below) and in each category, you will see a scale (like the one below) that shows you the progress to the fulfillment of each category’s promises.

    Furthermore, you will see the actual promises (as shown in the first picture below) that the President made.

     

  • Donald Trump Accuses Google of Rigging Search Results Against Him

    Donald Trump Accuses Google of Rigging Search Results Against Him

    Donald Trump’s rants against news outlets that are critical of him often surface in the form of tweetstorms, criticizing journalists and singing the praise of certain media outlets that paint a positive picture of the US President when they cover him. But Trump has now turned his attention to Google calling it out for rigging the ‘Search Results’ and suppressing the good news about him and his followers as a whole.

    In a series of Tweets sent out some hours ago, Trump claimed that Google Search Results for the term ‘Trump News’ shows only the results covered by ‘Fake New Media’, which only shows bad news and stories about the President and his administration. On his Twitter handle, he said;

    Google search results for “Trump News” shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake New Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of…

    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018

    And as if ‘Fake New Media’ was not clear enough, Trump eventually namedropped CNN, pointing out that such media outlets control what the masses see on the internet and what they can’t when they search for news related to him. To back up his claims, he added that a staggering 96% of the Search Results for the term ‘Trump News’ are from ‘National Left-Wing Media’. However, he did not mention any research source or credible survey report from where the ‘96%’ figure was obtained.

    Rings a bell?…..Not the first time Google has been accused

    Trump is not the first person to accuse Google of rigging search results. Even here in Zimbabwe, the President’s Advisor once raised an objection to how Google presents information on Zimbabwe in its search results. Outside of Zimbabwe, Google was even fined $21 million in India and €2.4 billion in European Union for rigging search results.

    Anyway, back to Trump

    Trump did not mince words in claiming that ‘Google and others’ are suppressing the voice of Conservatives and that any information and news which is good, is hidden from the public. He later called the situation ‘very serious’ and added that it will be ‘addressed’, without specifying when or how will he tackle the so-called issue of Google and media outlets trying to portray him in a negative image. On his Twitter handle, he went on to say;

    ….results on “Trump News” are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!

  • SmartSurveyApp Is An Interesting App That Uses Machine Learning To Conduct High Quality Surveys

    SmartSurveyApp Is An Interesting App That Uses Machine Learning To Conduct High Quality Surveys

    Ask one person for advice, and it’s hard to know whether they can be trusted. Ask a hundred, though, and you will see a clearer picture start to come together. That’s democracy or the more modern term crowdsourcing, and it’s one of the best ways to gather insight.

    Whether you are designing a new product, improving your site, or just seeing if more people like apples than bananas, your best bet is to ask people. A lot of them. And to do so, you will need a survey. More so you will need an app or software that gather info from your clients, and to analyze the data you collect for making business decisions.

    We recently got acquainted with a cloud-based app that does exactly that. Big Data SmartSurveyApp or just SmartSurveyApp is an innovative cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) application (app) equipped with machine learning engine, Big Data Classification, and predictive analytics tools built to:

    • Conduct high-quality online and offline surveys, market research and behavioral studies in any industry,
    • Run any data-related project to collect an unlimited volume of data that is ready for analysis and modeling,
    • Uncover hidden insights/patterns in raw data and predict future outcomes and trends.

    The app comes with more than 100 advanced analytics tools that are designed to make market research a better and hassle-free experience.

    What is Big Data SmartSurveyApp solving?

    The app has been invented to address 2 major issues companies face across Africa and the globe.

    • Lack of digital tools to collect a large volume of any type of data and customers feedback
    • Lack of digital tools to analyze in real-time collected survey data/customers feedback and extract hidden information to help these companies make better business decisions, optimize and react in real-time to business matters.

    The Big Data SmartSurveyApp overcomes both challenges where an unlimited volume of any type of data/customers’ feedback can be collected online and offline and collected data is ready for instant analyses. Analyses include but not limited to Big Data analytics, sales patterns, consumer behavior analytics, market segmentation, market intelligence, data modeling, data visualization, predictive analytics etc.

    As such, Big Data SmartSurveyApp could offer great business/market intelligence and analytics solutions to African companies and gives them access to affordable and yet advanced data collection and analytics tools.

    What value does Big Data SmartSurveyApp add?

    Big Data SmartSurveyApp is serverless and requires no infrastructure or database which translates to saving money for companies. You don’t need to be technical to use the app too. Big Data SmartSurveyApp as a self-service Big Data Analytics platform requires no technological infrastructure or technical background or specific programming knowledge.

    Who is behind Big Data SmartSurveyApp?

    Big Data SmartSurveyApp is developed and managed by passionate professionals with decades of experience in Big Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Data Mining/Modeling, Statistical Computations and Predictive Analytics Modeling.

    To learn more about Big Data SmartSurveyApp, check out the following case studies run by the app where companies were able to use the built-in analytics tools to get insights from their raw data and use the findings to better their decision-making process and optimize sales and productivity.

    1. Case study 1: New product subscription (consumer behavior analytics) patterns to understand market segmentation and optimize sales

    2. Case Study 2: Recruiting new sales agents to optimize sales 

  • Facebook Is Testing The ‘Things In Common’ Feature That Will Help You Befriend Strangers

    Facebook Is Testing The ‘Things In Common’ Feature That Will Help You Befriend Strangers

    Facebook is reportedly testing a new feature that will help its users befriend strangers with common interests. According to CNET, the feature, called things in common, will give users the option of connecting with other Facebook users who are not a part of their friend list, but share some common interests.

    The social networking giant reportedly plans to achieve this by showing users the things that they have in common with other Facebook users when they scroll through the comments section on public posts.

    It’s no secret Facebook is always looking for new ways to get people to interact with each other, so it’s not surprising they would be exploring yet another avenue for connecting people who aren’t yet friends.

    The test of this feature is only limited to the US for now, and that too, only for a small group of people. The company, however, is playing its cards close to its chest at the moment and refused to divulge if it will be rolled out globally in the future.

    Of course, identifying basic things you have in common with mutual friends is hardly the same as Facebook helping you find someone whom you have something in common outside your circle who actually cares about you. But things in commonfeature could be one step toward helping people identify new people outside of their circles they might want to connect with.

    Facebook is trying out many new features in recent times, including a new dating feature that is apparently being tested internally by Facebook employees before being rolled out to general users.

     

  • WhatsApp Says Backups On Google Drive Are Not Protected By Encryption

    WhatsApp Says Backups On Google Drive Are Not Protected By Encryption

    In what some may describe as shocking or perhaps unacceptable, WhatsApp has announced that backed-up chats, messages, images, and videos on Google Drive are not protected by end-to-end encryption.

    In a message posted on the FAQ section of its official blog, WhatsApp says that “Media and messages you back up aren’t protected by WhatsApp end-to-end encryption while in Google Drive”.

    The development comes just days after the Google and WhatsApp announced an arrangement that will allow people to back-up all their WhatsApp messages on Google Drive without worrying about running out of free storage.

    Even though the privacy of WhatsApp messages may be compromised once they are backed up on Google Drive, the backup process itself is completely voluntary, and users can turn off automatic Google Drive backups by going over to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Backup to Google Drive, and changing the setting to ‘Never’.

    It’s also worth noting here that end-to-end encryption is one of the most important WhatsApp features that became a bone of contention recently after India asked the company to find a technological solution to trace the origin of messages on its platform as the country battles the spread of fake news. However, WhatsApp are reluctant to bend to the will of the Indian government on grounds of privacy.

  • President Mnangagwa, Here Is What Some Zimbabweans On Twitter Are Demanding From You

    President Mnangagwa, Here Is What Some Zimbabweans On Twitter Are Demanding From You

    Three weeks ago we spelled out what President Mnangagwa is going to do for the techies in Zimbabwe. So in turn, we asked our Twitter followers what they want President Mnangagwa to do ‘tech-wise’.  Here is what they want;

    1. We need a strong DIGITIZATION and automation policy to remove some unnecessary bottlenecks in public service centers. I’m thinking of how much better the passport office can become, how birth certificates or id issue can be made better.

    2. We need to borrow ideas from countries like Israel for technology in agriculture. They have one of the most advanced irrigation and crop monitoring technologies to guarantee higher crop yields.

    Government tendering should move to a blockchain system to enhance transparency.

    I would prefer he sets up tech incubators for entrepreneurs. Our school leavers need to learn how to code at a young age so that we can solve our economic problems.W e can learn from Israel or Silicon Valley.

    We would love to see rural areas internet connectivity improved

    Revise the telecommunications interception bill and respect every individual’s right to data privacy

    He should start with rationalizing ownership and funding so we can also have stiff competition in the telecommunications industry as well as the mobile money industry.

    Free radio waves

    There is need to introduce a comprehensive e-Government system

    reduce tax on IT related imports, we can’t invest in new tech if we are being restricted by equipment costs,

    Lower data charges please sir!

    Govt ministries and departments should have websites that do not crush (Hey ). Also Ministers should stop using personal email accounts

    Their data capturing in parastatals must be digitalised.Tired of waiting in long queues to get documents from a mountain of papers aka Data Base

    Reduce Data, all service provider to provide 4G network countrywide within 100days

    You can visit our Twitter page by following this link and see more comments

  • POTRAZ  Increased Investment in “Projects” By 78% Using The Universal Service Fund (USF)

    POTRAZ Increased Investment in “Projects” By 78% Using The Universal Service Fund (USF)

    The year 2017 saw POTRAZ investing more in projects that extend Information Communications and Telecommunications to the “underserved and unserved” remote areas of Zimbabwe. The post and telecoms regulator used the Universal Service Fund (USF)to invest $7.3 million in 2017, thus representing a 78% increase after it invested $4 million in 2016. The Universal Service Fund is a pool of funds contributed by all operators licensed by POTRAZ – mobile operators, Internet Access Providers and the fixed-line operator- and part of its purpose is to fund the development of telecoms infrastructure in the country.

    Despite initiating a number of projects, its taking time for POTRAZ to realize the completion of some projects as foreign currency shortages (since last year) are backtracking the completion of the projects. Accordingly, many projects couldn’t be finished last year, henceforth their completion is slated for this year.

    Now that some projects for 2017 are still being worked on to be completed in 2018, I wonder if POTRAZ will initiate and complete new projects that are designated for the year 2018.

    Let’s look at some projects POTRAZ invested in 2017

    Infrastructure for Geographical Network Expansion

    The project involved the construction of 3 additional base station sites to extend the geographical coverage of mobile services to rural areas.

    Status

    Completed

    Internet Protocol Microwave

    The project involved the provision of microwave radios for backhauling traffic generated at the above established terminal stations to core networks.

    Status

    Completed

    Telemedicine

    Telemedicine involves the delivery of healthcare services, such as health assessments or consultations, over the telecommunications infrastructure.

    Status

    Partially completed

    Connectivity of 1,300 schools- 

    The provision of internet connection to primary and secondary schools.

    Status

    Not yet complete

    ICTs for People with Disabilities
    This entails the provision of assistive software for use by people with disabilities to facilitate access to ICT services.

    Status

    Not yet complete

    E-learning

    As POTRAZ puts it, this “project is meant to bring contemporary learning resources to 50 rural schools by providing computer hardware and digital curriculum content on all subjects from Grade One to Advanced Level. The project also involves training of teachers on imparting lessons using digital platforms”.

    Status

    Not yet complete

    Community Information Centres (CICs)

    The provision of “public places where people can access computers, the Internet and other digital technologies that enable them to gather information, create, learn and communicate with others while they develop essential digital skills”

    Status

    Not yet complete

    These kinds of projects dispel some myths, criticisms, and skepticisms that I, for many had with regard to the nature and use of the USF. Many thought that the USF was just one way by POTRAZ to milk money out of service providers and not use the funds for any improvement in the ICT sector. But here we are, some of the money is being channeled in tangible things.

  • ZB Bank to Commit $40 Million For Digital Banking

    ZB Bank to Commit $40 Million For Digital Banking

    The banking landscape as we know it is changing in Zimbabwe and the world over. Digitisation is revolutionizing the way customers engage with their finances. As a result, banks are having to rethink the way they do business to deliver a better customer experience and remain competitive.

    That is why ZB Bank is committing $40 million to fully implement digital banking as a way of reducing inefficiencies in the bank. The benefits of digitization in Zimbabwe’s banking sector are still growing, from low-cost delivery of banking services to drawing new customers. ZB Bank will look to catch up with banks such as Nedbank, Steward and many more that are going extremely digital. We have seen local banks parting with “paper banking” and starting to use USSDs and mobile applications as a way of digitizing.

    But the move towards a more technologically driven banking implies that ZB Bank needs a different type of workforce. No wonder why ZB’s will allocate a “retraining budget” to train its employees to acquire needful skills for digital banking. ZB’s CEO, Ron Mutandagayi said;

    People will be re-trained. There will be opportunities in other areas. While there may be losses in one area, it will be counter-balanced by another

    There is less and less need for people to do manual and repetitive tasks, as these can increasingly be digitized. Accordingly, those who have been doing the repetitive tasks have to be laid off or retrained. On the other hand, ZB Bank will become increasingly reliant on heavily skilled technologists to develop and manage its digital banking platform. There a new type of labor will be employed.

  • Surely ZBC Had The Capacity To Broadcast The Presidential Challenge Court Case, Kudos To It For Good Broadcasting

    Surely ZBC Had The Capacity To Broadcast The Presidential Challenge Court Case, Kudos To It For Good Broadcasting

    Kudos to ZBC for the good broadcast of the Constitutional Court proceedings. . Many (including me) doubted that ZBC will prove worthy of the charge to give us a good broadcasting of the court case, but it did. The state-owned broadcaster is notorious for just unceremoniously blacking out or glitching but in the two days of broadcasting the court proceedings, we didn’t see any of that. No wonder why the court ruled that you had enough capacity to give us a good broadcast.

    It was the first time any recording or broadcasting of proceedings in a court case has happened in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s courts usually ban journalists from recording proceedings other than with notebooks and pens.

    Furthermore, many people have no direct contact with the justice system and they depend on media for news related to courts. But this broadcast helped in eliminating this gap and improved our layman’s understanding of courts beyond news reports and judgments.

    Should court cases be broacasted in the future?

    I’m not sure if the point of allowing the case to be broadcast was to play to the hype surrounding the case or to give effect to transparency. However, I feel that broadcasting of courts may enhance the transparency and integrity of our judicial system hence it would be good to keep on broadcasting court cases.

    Anyway, I hope that this court case is a “baby step” which could lead to a wider filming of the courts in the future.

  • Here’s A Comparison Of Weekly Data Bundles Between Netone, Econet And Telecel: Take Your Pick

    Here’s A Comparison Of Weekly Data Bundles Between Netone, Econet And Telecel: Take Your Pick

    Since Telecel has just introduced its weekly data bundles, I think its worthwhile to compare the weekly data bundles offered by all three Mobile Network Operators (MNO) and see whose got the best deal.Take a look at the following table;

    Network$1 for$3 for$5 for
    Econet35megabytes120megabytes$300megabytes
    Telecel150megabytes500megabytes850megabytes
    Netone111megabytes429megabytes833megabytes

    As you can see, Telecel and Netone offer more data (by far) for any price compared to the largest MNO, Econet. In other words Telecel and Netone weekly data bundles are way cheaper than Econet’s. Regardless of their ‘cheapness’, I think some people prefer to stick with Econet (for data bundles) because of its relatively wider coverage and higher internet speeds.

    Telecel and Netone even offer weekly data bundles of $2 yet Econet doesn’t. For Telecel you get 300megabytes and Netone you get 250 megabytes for weekly data bundles of $2. Netone goes another step further of offering weekly data bundles of $0.50 cents for 50 megabytes.

    The highest priced weekly data bundles, pegged at $10 come from Econet and Netone, with Econet offering just 650 megabytes compared to 2000 megabytes offered by Netone.

  • Telecel Introduces Weekly Data Bundles

    Telecel Introduces Weekly Data Bundles

    Telecel has introduced weekly data bundles in addition to the already existing Megaboost data bundles and Power Hour Data Bundle and Daily bundles. Its surprising why Telecel took so long to introduce the weekly data bundles when all of its competitors introduced them a long time ago. The smallest Mobile Network Operator will to some extent pin its hope on these weekly data bundles to increase the usage of data by its customers who needed such a data plan. The weekly bundles come in 4 different price levels and usage caps (amount of data to use), but all with the validity of 7 days.

    Usage CapPriceValidity
    150MB$1.007 days
    300MB$2.007 days
    500MB$3.007 days
    850MB$5.007 days

    How to buy the bundles

    In order to purchase, one  has to simply dial *470# with a sufficient balance in their phone.

  • POTRAZ Attended To 50% Fewer Customer Complaints Last Year: Here Is A List Of Complaints Customers Lodged

    POTRAZ Attended To 50% Fewer Customer Complaints Last Year: Here Is A List Of Complaints Customers Lodged

    You may think that the complaints we lodge to our service providers go unheeded by the telecoms regulator, POTRAZ. Actually, I was surprised that they include statistics about customer complaints in their financial statements. It somewhat shows how much it cares about the wellbeing of customers, so to speak, when using Information and Communications Technology. For those who are in the dark, you can ask POTRAZ to help you with a complaint to your respective service provider, thats after your service provider fails to help you. (Read: Unhappy With Quality Of Service From Your Telecoms Service Provider? Here’s The Complaints Procedure)

    In its latest financial statements report for 2017, POTRAZ recorded a decline in customer complaints it attended to, from 41 (in 2016) to 22 (in 2017). The reason why I’m interested in talking about this is because I want you to know that you can lodge virtually any type of complaint for POTRAZ to assist you in getting your issue resolved. Here are the complaints customers lodged in 2017;

    Nature of complaint and date
    received
    Respondent Operator /
    Organisation
    Complaint Resolution Status
    Poor Quality of Service in Hwedza – 17
    January 2017.
    NetOneNetOne was directed to improve Quality of
    Service and abide by the Quality of Service
    Regulations.
    Ecocash API application – 18 January
    2017.
    EconetResolved. Econet engaged the consumer and
    the issue was resolved.
    Ecocash failed transaction resulting in
    $46.78 deduction – 22 January 2017.
    EconetReferred to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
    (RBZ). Resolved.
    Premature disconnection of 15GB
    of which only 11GB were used – 13
    January 2017.
    ZolResolved. ZOL compensated the consumer.
    Double charging of ADSL account via
    Ecocash Lucky Mbira – 24 February
    2017.
    EconetResolved. Transaction reversed.
    POTRAZ Toll free number not working –
    February 2017.
    TelOne, POTRAZResolved. TelOne attended to the switchboard.
    Failed Ecocash ZESA payment, $5
    debited – 10 February 2017.
    EconetResolved. The $5 token was credited.
    Billing complaint – 28 April 2017.PowertelResolved. Powertel presented detailed billing
    statement with no anomalies. The complainant
    was appraised.
    Anti-competitive practices – 3 May 2017.EconetExplanation received from Econet and
    complainant was appraised.
    Data bundle expiry – 26 May 2017.EconetResolved. It was explained that the one- week
    expiry is only a window period. The bundles
    can be exhausted before a week depending on
    usage.
    Poor Service at Econet Call Centre.EconetResolved. Econet engaged with customer.
    Loss of $500.00 Ecocash transaction –
    7 April 2017
    EconetThe customer reported the case to the police.
    Failed Ecocash $2 airtime transaction –
    8 June 2017
    EconetResolved. The case was forwarded to RBZ who
    said they resolved the case.
    Slow Internet speed – 2 July 2017PowertelResolved. The customer was reassigned to another
    IP pool.
    Complaint on update of domain registration
    – 21 July 2017
    TeloneResolved the case of domain registration satisfactorily.
    Loss of airtime via voice mail – 7 August
    2017
    EconetEconet resolved the complaint
    ZESA token Ecocash refund – 24 August
    2017
    EconetThe case was referred to RBZ. The complainant
    was refunded.
    Erroneous Ecocash transfer ($1) – 9
    November 2017
    EconetCase referred to RBZ. Refund done.
    Erroneous Ecocash ZINARA Tollgate account
    payment – 9 November 2017.
    EconetCase referred to RBZ. Transaction revisited and
    corrected.
    Call Centre not accessible – 9 November
    2017
    EconetThe complaint was raised with Econet and they
    advised that they are introducing a web self-care,
    and trouble ticketing system to improve accessibility.
    Query on the justification for the expiry of
    data – 23 November 2017.
    All telecommunications operators
    that offer data services
    The consumer was advised that data bundles have
    window periods to enable operators to plan and
    manage telecommunications networks.
    Unsuccessful Ecocash bank to wallet
    transfer – 29 November 2017.
    EconetReferred to Econet and RBZ.

     

     

     

  • ZIMRA Working On Replacing Humans With Technology To Reduce Corruption By Employees

    ZIMRA Working On Replacing Humans With Technology To Reduce Corruption By Employees

    Information Communication Technology (ICT) has a great potential to improve revenue collection by automating processes, better servicing taxpayers and increasing compliance. That’s why, ZIMRA is working on the development and implementation of ICT in its tax collection process to ultimately reduce or replace humans. The country’s tax collector, ZIMRA that this initiative is one way of reducing corruption by its employees and increasing tax collection efficiency. ZIMRA commissioner-general Faith Mazani said;

    Zimra has invested in ICT to improve our efficiency and service delivery to our taxpaying public, but this also provides an audit trail to trace any irregular activities. We are also working on enhancing our ICT capabilities to remove human interface with our staff that promotes rent-seeking behaviours, especially at our border posts.

    Cases of corruption of ZIMRA employees are well known outside mainstream media reporting. If one doesn’t want to pay full duty or tax or they want to smuggle, they just must bribe a ZIMRA employee. But with the implementation of technology for managing boarder posts activities and collecting taxes, these “rent-seeking” behaviors could be sidelined. Athough, ZIMRA has tried to curb corruption by its employees through monitoring their lifestyles, corruption, in both forms I have highlighted above is still happening.

    In 2015, the ZIMRA introduced e-Services platform which allows taxpayers to file tax returns via the internet.  No doubt this e-Services platform has reduced human interaction in the tax collection processes and subsequently improved the flow of the tax collection process. However, long term gains will only be possible if ZIMRA adopts more technology (thus removing some humans) in its operations.