VILLAGERS in Nekavandama in ward 12, Hwange, are forced to climb mountains and trees to make phone calls due to network challenges.
The villagers said they were still cut off from the global village 45 years after independence.
Ward 12 councillor Jowani Chuma told Southern Eye that critical government employees such as teachers shun the area as a result.
This, he said, was contributing to poor pass rates as well as worsening the digital divide between learners in the area and those in cities.
“We are losing a lot of critical staff here to other areas with better network connectivity,” Chuma said.
“We have three local schools and every term, we have teachers transferring to other schools with better infrastructure, which is a loss to our learners as the situation leads to poor pass rates.
“We are forced to climb mountains to access network, including teachers, especially school heads because they have to be in touch with their line ministry for instructions.”
According to villagers, they are often exposed to attacks by wild animals in their search for network connectivity.
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“If I do not do that [climb mountain to access network], I can miss notices of council meetings,” he said.
“The challenge is that the area is infested with wild animals like elephants. Only a few brave men can go there during the evening, but females cannot do so.”
Former Speaker of the National Assembly Lovemore Moyo said it was disheartening that several parts of Matabeleland experienced network challenges.
“It must be noted that it is not peculiar to the Hangwe area, but it affects other parts of the region,” Moyo said.
“The absence of a reliable network is retrogressive and affects businesses within the vicinity especially the tourism sector.
“Matobo district shares the same predicament, especially those located in the northern and mountainous parts of the district.”
Moyo said in most cases, villagers risked being bitten by snakes while climbing trees in bid to access network.
“We feel hard done and abandoned by service providers,” he said.
“Obviously, the availability of good communication networks will certainly aid development in any given location.”
He challenged service providers to upgrade their services in the region.
