Will NetOne get its gGroove on?

By Staff reporter | 26 Mar 2019 at 07:19hrs
NetOne HQ
The dust seems as if its finally settling at NetOne, after so much drama unfolding and fighting both legal and political wars, sanity must prevail at the state-owned mobile network.

The biggest question that the sector is worried about is whether or not the telecommunications operator will bounce back into full swing towards profitability, focus on its mandate and more importantly move away from politics to the business of the day.

Muchenje's reinstatement has been well received by many employees, as an inspiring leader who re-energized the coworkers, ready to rock the ship in the right direction, but this is not a walk in the park.

NetOne has been greatly set back, their OneMoney is only growing numbers not figures, the total active subscriber base has been shrinking, the culture shift is a major hindrance, and Muchenje will need to be judged by these numbers.

With the past legal battles they fought, setting a strong precedence, the current 9 executives that were once fired are technically employed at the mercy of the returned CEO.

It only takes a little wisdom to find more paths towards peace, for surely it is now evident that any future wars will bring pyrrhic victory.

These are real issues that can not be swept underneath the carpet, but I'm sure a better way forward can be crafted. Historically these are well capable executives from their past mobile networks, who made it to these posts on merit, where they really slackened, they may deserve another chance to redeem themselves.

NetOne does not have that much amount of time to spend on internal infighting, they have lost a lot already, and they need to hit the ground running and exert that energy towards productivity.

At one point they used to be the fastest growing mobile network, their products were charming many and there were posing as a real contender, to stand against Econet Wireless, which by all definition is now the industry giant.

Zimbabweans need an alternative, if NetOne and Telecel fail to live up to the expectation, they would be surrendering consumers to competition on a silver platter.

The current status is not healthy, one player has to at least be the best in voice, video, data or mobile services. Serving mediocre packages will force the telecommunication customers to rely on only one service provider and should the market forces shift, there will be a major outcry.

NetOne and Telecel will have to step up their game to offer really competitive products that define the space.

Unfortunately Telecel is completely disabled, all they can do for now is find ways to best maintain the clientele they already have with serious bleeding on going, they can only bank on loyalty, not service, as they remain seriously under capitalized.

Their stakeholders seem to be stuck on figuring out the way forward, hanging on to an asset they can't capitalize, with serious efforts coming to a naught it tells, it's time to sell to new blood.

NetOne however must not be in the same predicament, Telecel could have done way better with a quarter of capital investment NetOne received, that is why Telecel Zimbabwe remains a miracle today. One wonders how they still manage with such a paltry investment, against giants.

For NetOne, they have tasted the gift of Capex and have lured the best brains in the industry.

To whom much is given, much is required!

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