Category: Legislation
Online Betting Is Still Illegal So If You’re Scammed, You’re On Your Own
So we recently got an email from someone claiming that he had been the victim of a scam being run by BetMargin50. BetMargin50, as the name suggests, is a betting company and the guy who alleges that they ripped him off had this to say: Hello guys,i just wanna urge all those who are registered […]
Veritas Fully Explains The Charges Being Levelled Against Supa Mandiwanzira
The Former ICT Minister is in a bit of a pickle as he is in an on-going court case facing charges of criminal abuse of office. It is alleged that Supa Mandiwanzira abused his office primarily in two ways; i) giving a company work on a government project without going to tender and, ii) appointing […]
Supa Mandiwanzira: I Did Not Defraud The Government
Former Minister of ICT, Supa Mandiwanzira, was back in court today as his case regarding abuse of office continued after two postponements dating back to last year. Mandiwanzira is being charged with abuse of office on two counts; That he allegedly engaged Megawatt company, to do consultancy work for NetOne without going to tender That […]
Zimbabwe Could Award First Business Method Patent As Inventor Of ‘Solution To Help Curb Cash Crisis’ Challenges Patent Office In Court
Zimbabwe could issue its first Business Method Patent on the back of a patent application for a local innovation which is also the subject of a court application. This patent application, number ZW/P/2018/25, which has already been formally examined and accepted, is for an invention in the class of business methods, titled BANKNOTE POSSESSION TRACKING […]
COMESA Court Going Paperless As It Starts Implementing A Digital Justice System
Image credit: Mashable These days the statement “Going paperless” is often attached to the financial sector. Well, Court of Justice of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) can also brag to use that statement as well. COMESA partnered with CaseLines a United Kingdom-based company to implement what can be called a digital justice […]
High Court Controversially Orders Rural Teachers Association President Not To Use Social Media Whilst On Bail
A few weeks ago the leader of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe -Obert Masaraure- was arrested and charged with treason after the demonstrations that took place in mid-January. Whilst he’s being charged with “subverting a constitutionally elected government”, Mr Masaraure was granted bail for $500. Strangely though, the High Court Judge has also […]
2% Tax Still Illegal And Amounts To Unlawful Seizure Of Property – Veritas
Veritas has brought up again the issue of legality of the 2% tax on electronic transactions and whether it should be collected as it is right now. Before we even get into the legality of the process used to effect this tax, we must point out that the tax is in itself inherently illegal. It […]
Not Yet Uhuru: The Bigger Legal Issue On Internet Shut Down Has Not Been Addressed Yet
So yes the court has ruled that the internet shut down order given by the minister of state security was an illegal order. The judge went on to order the lifting of all restrictions on social media access that have been in place since Tuesday last week. The actual ruling made The ruling made by […]
[Breaking] High Court Declares That Internet Blockade Was Illegal And Social Media Access Must Be Restored
So last week the government decided to block the internet as a response to citizens protesting the state of the nation. On the surface, blocking the internet seems pretty illegal and the UN seems to think so too. In response to this seemingly unlawful act, MISA (Media Institute for Southern Africa) Zimbabwe along with the […]
AI Can Have A Dark Side Too: Heard Of Deepfake Videos?
When people think of harmful Artificial Intelligence, we usually think of the Rise of the Machines revolutions where robots get so intelligent they take over everything. The honest truth is there are many other ways AI can be harmful and if you’ve heard about Deepfakes then you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. What are […]
ZIMSTATS And POTRAZ Release ICT Access And Usage Reports For Zim’s Education And Health Sectors
Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTATS) and POTRAZ came together to conduct a survey measuring the access and usage of ICTs within schools and health facilities across the country. The reports were made with the goal of identifying areas with low ICT penetration in order to rectify this. In the health census; 1 489 health facilities […]
Minister of Home Affairs: People Have Developed ‘Disease’ Of Attacking Each Other On Social Media
It feels like not a month passes by without a government official complaining about social media. And for the month of December, we have another entry in our Govt Officials Fed Up With Social Media journal. This time it’s Honourable Cain Mathema who apart from complaining about social media also happens to be the Minister of […]
The EU Wants To Pass A Law That Could Potentially Kill YouTube
Earlier this year, the European Union put into effect a controversial and internet-shattering law that came to be known as the GDPR. Online publishers had to change their websites to deal with user data much differently than they had before. The GDPR was centred on the EU but it ended up affecting everyone, including people outside […]
Why Econet Should NOT Be Allowed To Create A Vaya Bundle Or Zero Rate Vaya
Some folks have been calling for a Vaya bundle or for Vaya to be zero rated. The drivers mostly were calling for this. This is water that has to be treaded carefully. Lets’s start by clarifying a misconception: Nothing wrong with monopoly or dominance There is a misconception that exists out there. A lot of […]
Government Promises To Take Multiple Views Into Consideration In The New Media Policy
If you ask the average Zimbabwean what they think of the media in this country, I am willing to bet that they are exasperated by that as well as many other things that are going wrong. The Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services –Monica Mutsvangwa- has said the government will be taking a look […]
Egypt Worryingly Follows In Footsteps of Other African Countries Tightening Grip On Social Media
It seems a number of African countries are determined to make sure their poor governance extends to social media platforms. One week ago, Egypt joined Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya among governments who believe social media needs to be regulated. The law passed seven days ago in Egypt dictates that any social media accounts and blogs […]
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission Redesigns Voting Booths To Make Sure Voters Do Not Take Selfies
ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) has redesigned the voting booths and this has caused an outcry as political parties think there is some foul play. Political parties are claiming that this redesign compromises the secrecy of voters ZEC has come out and rubbished those claims. The new design is being attributed to people taking pictures and […]
Petition To Zimbabwean Parliament To Regulate And Not Ban Cryptocurrencies Launched
May 2018 proved to be a crazy month in the cryptocurrency world. Cryptocurrencies went from ‘allowed’ to ‘banned’ and back to ‘allowed’ all in the space of 12 days. Governor John Mangudya and his friends at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) overstepped their authority and issued a directive banning the trading of cryptocurrencies. They […]
BREAKING: Court Says Cryptocurrency Exchange Golix Can Resume Trading, Reserve Bank Directive Suspended
As you all know the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe issued a directive instructing banks not to facilitate any cryptocurrency related transactions. They also strongly warned the public not to deal in cryptocurrencies. Further, the Reserve Bank wrote to Golix, Zimbabwe’s first and biggest cryptocurrency exchange instructing them to wind up operations. Golix then went to […]
Golix Temporarily Takes Down Crypto Exchange As Court Case Kickoffs Later Today
Zimbabwe’s most popular cryptocurrency exchange, Golix, has issued a statement saying they will be shutting down their “exchange’s Orderbook.” The cryptic statement they sent to their customers read: Dear valued customer. Please note that we have temporarily taken down the exchange’s Orderbook. Any developments related to this matter will be frequently updated. We sincerely apologise […]
Zimbabwe is Open For Business … BUT Are We Ready For The New Data Regulation Law With 5 Days To Go
The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) deadline is less than a week away. We’re committed to being compliant. Given Zimbabwe is now open for business companies need to consider how GDPR will (not might) affect them. What exactly is the GDPR? The General Data Protection Regulation is a new privacy regulation passed by the EU […]
BREAKING: Golix Challenges The Reserve Bank Ban Of Cryptocurrency At The High Court
No surprise really, I was expecting the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to be challenged in court for their directive that effectively banned cryptocurrency in Zimbabwe. The central bank did not just instruct banks to stop facilitating any cryptocurrency linked transactions but they also directed the general public to stay away from cryptos. Now, it has […]
The Fate Of Some Zimbabwean Companies And Projects After The Central Bank Bans Cryptocurrencies
The RBZ decided that they would wash their hands when it comes to cryptos. The central bank sent a directive to banks instructing them to cut all their ties with crypto exchanges and this may have grave consequences in the long run. As a nation, we had a serious opportunity to adopt a technology whilst […]
After Banning Banks From Bitcoin, RBZ Warns Public. Governor ‘Says’ He Would Rather Follow Than Lead
So after sending out a circular to banks prohibiting them from opening and continuing to hold accounts for individuals and entities that trade in bitcoin and the rest of cryptocurrencies, the RBZ has used the strongest of terms to warn all of us not to go near cryptos. This time the communique was signed by […]
Reserve Bank Acts Typically Zimbabwean: If You Don’t Understand The Technology, Fear It And Ban It
Some years ago I founded an EdTech (educational technology) startup. We had solutions for primary and secondary schools. The solution may have been not so good or maybe it was but that was not important because the roadblocks at schools that we wanted to sell the solution ensured we could not test that out even […]
RBZ Bans Bitcoin And Other Virtual Currencies In Zimbabwe
The central bank of Zimbabwe, RBZ, has placed a ban given a directive to banks and financial institutions to stop processing transactions to do with Cryptos. The measures are apparently being taken to “protect the public and safeguard the integrity, safety and soundness of the country’s financial system.” The ban applies to all financial instituions. The […]
Kwese Has Been Licensed For VOD, I Wonder If Netflix And YouTube Are Licensed Too
So Kwese has been licensed finally, yaay! They have been given a total of three licenses. Content distribution license, webcasting license and video on demand license. Only one of those licenses makes sense and I am being generous… I believe this whole licensing stuff is not progressive and has been overtaken by technology. I believe […]
A Local Startup Is Trying To Solve The Problem Of Corruption In Zimbabwe And Africa: It’s A Good Start
If you have been in Zimbabwe and many other African countries, you will notice that corruption is very common and has become one of the major stumbling blocks we have faced in trying to turn around the dire situation in our country. Africa Innovation Trust (AIT) has come up with a tool that will help […]
Telco Worker Dies After Being Electrocuted On Duty. Why Is There Silence About This, Should Such Things Happen?
In an unfortunate incident, two Telco (The internet access provider) workers in Victoria Falls were electrocuted whilst on duty. The two, Victor Zulu and Rector Msipha were on duty and had been deployed to install a Wi-Fi modem and it was during this installation that the accident occurred. What happened? In an attempt to install […]
Stanbic Bank Accused Of Women’s Rights Violations
Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe seems to be in hot soup as women came out with their claws and are protesting against discrimination at the banks Borrowdale Branch. There were multiple banners protesting against the abuse of women’s rights at the bank. When we came across this on social media we assumed that this was a new […]