Clad
in a red jersey to match her black skirt and black winter boots, Fadzai
Madera''s fashion sense is sophisticated and remarkable. Her stylish hairpiece,
fashionable in urban centres around the country, complements her look, but this
will not mask her problems the cash in particular.Madera, from the Sanyati
cotton-farming area, says she has been marginalised and deprived of her right
to transact and earn a living.
Like many other farmers, she has over the years mastered her trade and knows
the pros and cons of maximising her yield, but her trouble, now, is how to get
paid as she struggles to cash-out after getting payments on mobile money
platforms due to the current cash crisis."I have so far sold seven bales
and I am expecting to get US$500, but the challenge is there is no cash and I
was asked to take half of it on EcoCash," Madera said. "I just need
my 500 dollars to buy what I want."
EcoCash
is Econet''s mobile money platform that has been battling rivals, NetOne''s
OneWallet and Telecel''s Telecash.I can''t use a phone. I could use my son''s
phone, but then it''s my money and it''s painful to have to give up control of
your money just like that," she said, adding the US$10 cost of a basic
mobile phone device is too much when there are competing needs such as food.
"We get cheaper groceries from individuals who go to South Africa and they
want cash. At times they even want US dollars only, so imagine if bond notes
are not wanted, what more the EcoCash?"Madera
said she has been losing a lot of money through transaction fees on mobile
money.She
said government must come up with a strategy to assist farmers to get paid for
their work.I am a farmer and what I produce is used in this country or exported.
What I am saying is government knows how much we get; they should just prepare
and make sure there is adequate cash to pay us.
"The
small shops that are here have no cash either and I have to travel 100km to
Kadoma to get cash but there is no guarantee I will get it. Imagine I spend
US$5 to get into Kadoma to cash out and have no luck. I still need to go back
home and I would have lost money in the process. When you are lucky you get US$20,"
Madera added.
According to the latest Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of
Zimbabwe (Potraz) report for the first quarter of 2017, a total of 3 251 784
mobile money subscribers were active in the first quarter of 2017, representing
a 1,6% decline from 3 303 188 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2016. Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of
Zimbabwe (Potraz) report for the first quarter of 2017, a total of 3 251 784
mobile money subscribers were active in the first quarter of 2017, representing
a 1,6% decline from 3 303 188 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Source: Allafrica.com Friday, 23 June 2017