Mobile data roaming tops Mushelenga’s visit to Botswana
After recently scrapping passports as an entry requirement between the two countries, Namibia and Botswana have shifted their attention to the next big thing: Scrapping mobile data roaming charges for their citizens.
During a benchmark visit to Botswana this week, Namibia’s information minister Peya Mushelenga and his counterpart Thulagano Segokgo underscored the need to speed up the new roaming regime.
The two ministers had a closed-door meeting in Gaborone yesterday, with this subject thought to be on the agenda.
A Southern African Development Community (SADC) target for the region, Namibia and Botswana said they want to ‘chart the way’ for their peers by harmonising data roaming for citizens visiting either country.
Trailing EAC
In June, it was reported that Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe would scrap mobile roaming charges among themselves by this month, and take SADC closer to a single digital market.
The initiative in the four countries is part of a move to create a One Network Area, Deutsche Welle reported.
Despite its regional integration ambitions, SADC is already trailing the East African Community (EAC) in the single digital markets space.
Cross-border travellers in Africa generally face high internet and mobile roaming tariffs, hence efforts by Namibia and Botswana’s governments to ease the situation.
Marching orders
Namibia and Botswana’s communication ministers are said to have gotten ‘marching orders’ from their respective heads of state to expedite scrapping mobile data roaming, but Namibian Sun understands they have been met with resistance from operators in both countries.
At a dinner held in his honour on Monday evening, Mushelenga said Namibia is ‘looking east’ for collaboration and partnerships with Botswana.
In reciprocity, Segokgo said they are looking west for such collaborations, referring to Namibia.
On Monday, Mushelenga toured the Mass Media Complex in the Batsadi area of Gaborone, where all state-owned media are located and operate through an integrated news strategy.
He emphasised the need to strengthen press freedom, mentioning several times that Namibia is a model in this regard, as it continues to be ranked number one in Africa.
Learn from the best
“We are here to benchmark and learn the best practices from your industry. As you would know, Namibia is ranked number one in Africa in terms of press freedom. We therefore believe others too can learn from us,” he said.
While Botswana is widely regarded as a model democracy, the recent arrest of Mmegi journalists Ryder Gabathuse and Innocent Selatlhwa and the seizure of their electronic devices by intelligence operatives was widely condemned.
Prior to his closed-door meeting with his counterpart yesterday - which was also attended by Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) CEO Emilia Nghikembua and information and communication technology ministry executive director Audrin Mathe - Mushelenga toured the Bofinet Digital Delta Data Centre and also visited Ditech, a tech innovation company.
During a benchmark visit to Botswana this week, Namibia’s information minister Peya Mushelenga and his counterpart Thulagano Segokgo underscored the need to speed up the new roaming regime.
The two ministers had a closed-door meeting in Gaborone yesterday, with this subject thought to be on the agenda.
A Southern African Development Community (SADC) target for the region, Namibia and Botswana said they want to ‘chart the way’ for their peers by harmonising data roaming for citizens visiting either country.
Trailing EAC
In June, it was reported that Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe would scrap mobile roaming charges among themselves by this month, and take SADC closer to a single digital market.
The initiative in the four countries is part of a move to create a One Network Area, Deutsche Welle reported.
Despite its regional integration ambitions, SADC is already trailing the East African Community (EAC) in the single digital markets space.
Cross-border travellers in Africa generally face high internet and mobile roaming tariffs, hence efforts by Namibia and Botswana’s governments to ease the situation.
Marching orders
Namibia and Botswana’s communication ministers are said to have gotten ‘marching orders’ from their respective heads of state to expedite scrapping mobile data roaming, but Namibian Sun understands they have been met with resistance from operators in both countries.
At a dinner held in his honour on Monday evening, Mushelenga said Namibia is ‘looking east’ for collaboration and partnerships with Botswana.
In reciprocity, Segokgo said they are looking west for such collaborations, referring to Namibia.
On Monday, Mushelenga toured the Mass Media Complex in the Batsadi area of Gaborone, where all state-owned media are located and operate through an integrated news strategy.
He emphasised the need to strengthen press freedom, mentioning several times that Namibia is a model in this regard, as it continues to be ranked number one in Africa.
Learn from the best
“We are here to benchmark and learn the best practices from your industry. As you would know, Namibia is ranked number one in Africa in terms of press freedom. We therefore believe others too can learn from us,” he said.
While Botswana is widely regarded as a model democracy, the recent arrest of Mmegi journalists Ryder Gabathuse and Innocent Selatlhwa and the seizure of their electronic devices by intelligence operatives was widely condemned.
Prior to his closed-door meeting with his counterpart yesterday - which was also attended by Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) CEO Emilia Nghikembua and information and communication technology ministry executive director Audrin Mathe - Mushelenga toured the Bofinet Digital Delta Data Centre and also visited Ditech, a tech innovation company.
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