adminThe solar-powered chargers to be delivered to the chiefs by NetOne will have a capacity to charge between 50 and 60 mobile phones at a time.
Zimbabwe Chiefs’ Council president Chief Fortune Charumbira confirmed the development saying plans were at an advanced stage for the chiefs to receive the solar-powered chargers from NetOne.
“The deal is as good as done and NetOne has already told us that they would soon be delivering the solar-powered chargers after they approached us with that offer and as traditional leaders familiar with challenges being faced by people in our communities, we gladly accepted the offer and all the 270 chiefs in Zimbabwe will each get a solar-powered charger which has a capacity to charge between 50 and 60 mobile phones concurrently,” said Chief Charumbira.
He added that the delivery of the solar-powered chargers would be done in phases until all the chiefs have been served. He also said that the development was going to benefit villagers in remote rural areas which are not connected to electricity.
“Most people in the rural areas now own mobile phones which are very important communication tools but the major problem was that in most of these remote rural areas there is no electricity and people always experience serious problems in having their mobile phones charged and it would be a very noble idea for chiefs to be custodians of these solar-powered chargers which will be accessed by each and every member of that community,” he said.
He expressed concern over some unscrupulous individuals who were taking advantage of the proliferation of mobile phones in some rural areas without access to electricity by fleecing desperate villagers of their hard-earned cash in return for having their phones charged.
At least seven million people in Zimbabwe out of a population of 12 million now have mobile phones, representing about 56,9 percent of the population.
Most of those who own mobile phones live in urban areas but the number of people who own mobile phones in rural areas has also been steadily growing and it is estimated that by 2015, Zimbabwe will have a 100 percent mobile phone ownership rate.
Online Reporter