Zimbabwean state-owned mobile operator NetOne has blamed the fact it has to procure goods and service from the State Procurement Board (SPB) for its lack of competitiveness in the market.
The operator has fallen behind Econet and Telecel to become Zimbabwe’s third operator with 2.5 million subscribers, in spite of being the first one licensed.
In response to questions from parliamentarians over the lack of growth for NetOne, The Herald reports chief executive Reward Kangai as saying NetOne and TelOne should not be forced to procure goods and services through the SPB in order to level the playing field.
Econet, Telecel and Liquid do not face such restrictions and are thus able to make quicker procurement decisions, Kangai said.
“Why do we have to go through these bureaucratic procedures where we are now required to publish key strategic plans to the SPB when our competitors have free rein and have access to that information? They know that NetOne is trying to do this and they can take these documents from SPB before we even implement it,” said Kangai.
“By the way, they will try to scuttle you before you implement.”
