Online Reporter
Obey Musiwa
Herald Reporter
NetOne commemorated its 30th anniversary by providing free healthcare services to residents of Mutambara in Chimanimani East, bringing much-needed medical care to communities that often face challenges accessing health services.
The OneHealth medical outreach, implemented under the ZimSmart Villages initiative with support from former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor and Mutapa Investment Fund CEO Dr John Panonetsa Mangudya, transformed the company’s anniversary celebrations into a community-focused initiative aimed at improving the health and well-being of rural Zimbabweans.
Speaking during the outreach, Dr Mangudya said institutions entrusted with national assets have a responsibility to ensure their success translates into meaningful social impact.
“This is exactly the kind of impact that strengthens communities and contributes to national development,” he said.
“When institutions invest in the health and well-being of citizens, they are investing in Zimbabwe’s future.”
NetOne Group chief executive officer Engineer Raphael Mushanawani said the company’s greatest achievement over the past three decades has been the positive impact it continues to make in people’s lives.
“Our greatest achievement is not simply the network we have built over the past three decades. It is the lives we continue to touch,” he said.
“Every community we empower and every person we serve, strengthens the legacy of NetOne as a company that exists to improve the lives of Zimbabweans.”
NetOne spokesperson Mr Ernest Magadzire said the company’s vision goes beyond providing telecommunications services, adding that connectivity should also create lasting social value in line with Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
“NetOne’s story has never been about infrastructure alone. It has always been about people,” he said.
“Moments like these remind us that our responsibility extends beyond connecting phones—we are connecting people to better health, dignity and opportunity,” he said.
Residents welcomed the initiative, saying it had brought essential healthcare services closer to communities that would otherwise have to travel long distances for treatment.
One beneficiary, Ms Sarah Mutsvangwa, said the outreach had given her access to medical care she could not easily obtain.
“Today the doctors came to us. I have received medication and advice that gives me hope,” she said.
“We usually associate mobile network companies with airtime and internet, but today NetOne has shown that it also cares about our health,” she said.
