Why Data Is Expensive: ICT Minister Tatenda Mavetera Says Zimbabwe Is Landlocked!

"No Beach, No Cheap Data? ICT Minister Explains Why Zimbabwe's Landlocked Status Drives Up Internet Costs!"

Written By: Mxolisi Ncube
Published: October 29, 2026 | 7 min read

Addressing Parliament at the 2027 pre-budget seminar in Bulawayo, ICT Minister Tatenda Mavetera pointed to Zimbabwe’s landlocked geography as a factor in data pricing—sparking widespread debate over taxes, power costs, and regional pricing disparities.

ICT Minister Tatenda Mavetera explains why internet data remains expensive in Zimbabwe
PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE: ICT Minister Tatenda Mavetera addressing legislators at the pre-budget seminar in Bulawayo regarding broadband pricing and structural cost drivers.

Zimbabwe’s data is expensive, the minister in charge of it told Parliament, in part because the country has no coastline. But as subscribers and industry analysts quickly point out, geography is only part of a much larger equation involving heavy fiscal taxes, unstable grid power, and tiered bundle pricing.

The Parliament Exchange on Data Costs

The debate kicked off in Bulawayo during the 2027 pre-budget seminar after Senate President Mabel Chinomona posed a direct question: why does Zimbabwe have the most expensive internet connectivity in the region?

The Landlocked Explanation “We are looking at it being imported because, you know, we are a landlocked country,” Minister Tatenda Mavetera told legislators. “So whatever data that we have, it has to be imported coming into Zimbabwe.”
Energy as a Core Cost Driver Acknowledging that costs are high, the minister noted that power expenses at base stations remain a major hurdle, with her ministry pushing for energy incentives to lower production costs.
Fee Reductions & Patience Minister Mavetera thanked President Emmerson Mnangagwa for directing sectoral levy cuts and urged stakeholders to exercise patience as regulatory reforms unfold.

How Data Actually Reaches Zimbabwe

Data does not arrive by sea or truck; it travels through glass fibre optic cables. Undersea cables land on the coasts of Mozambique and South Africa, connecting inland via dedicated carrier links built by TelOne, Econet, and Liquid Intelligent Technologies.

Regional Transit Tolls Operators in landlocked countries must pay neighbouring coastal networks to transit traffic from landing stations to domestic borders, adding a routing overhead.
Looking Toward Orbit: ZIMSAT-3 Highlighting satellite alternatives in March 2024, the government allocated focus toward the proposed ZIMSAT-3 national satellite under National Development Strategy 2 to bypass terrestrial routing constraints.

How Zimbabwe Compares With Landlocked Neighbours

The geographical theory faces challenges when looking at other landlocked nations in the region. According to international comparative data, several countries without coastlines achieve significantly lower average gigabyte prices.

Regional Landlocked Comparisons

Malawi

Landlocked and accessing similar undersea cables overland, recorded among the lowest broadband rates in sub-Saharan Africa.

Rwanda & Uganda

Landlocked nations with hilly terrain maintaining considerably lower average per-gigabyte costs than Zimbabwe.

Zambia

Another landlocked neighbour reflecting higher pricing tiers, though local bundle spreads within Zimbabwe still exhibit wide gaps depending on purchase size.

The Real Cost Drivers: Taxes, Power & Tariffs

Industry operators point to a heavy tax stack as the primary driver behind expensive data. Telecommunications associations note that statutory deductions consume a substantial portion of monthly revenues before municipal charges are applied.

Tax & Regulatory Stack The sector faces 15.5% VAT, 10% airtime excise duty, a 2% monthly licence fee, a 1.5% Universal Services Fund levy, spectrum fees, and a 15% withholding tax on imported broadband services.
Power Grid & Generator Costs Frequent grid power cuts force mobile operators to run base stations on costly diesel generators and backup solar installations.
The Bundle Pricing Divide Daily bundles, WhatsApp passes, and small data allocations cost significantly more per gigabyte than monthly bulk packages—impacting low-income subscribers most severely.

Frequently Asked Questions

During the pre-budget seminar in Bulawayo, ICT Minister Tatenda Mavetera explained that Zimbabwe is a landlocked country and must import its broadband traffic via neighbouring transit routes.

Operators cite heavy taxation (VAT, excise duty, licence fees, Universal Services Fund levies), municipal charges, withholding tax on imported bandwidth, and expensive diesel generation due to power cuts.

Licensed in 2024, Starlink provides direct satellite broadband without relying on traditional overland transit routes, offering a distinct pricing and licensing model compared to local mobile network operators.

Wessex Energy & News Digest Providing deep-dive coverage into national infrastructure, ICT policy developments, energy transitions, and economic trends across Zimbabwe.

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