01
Koliwe Majama

#DataMustFall

The first session moderated by Koliwe
Majama, gave a brief background
on the MISA-Zimbabwe IGC initiative
and why it was necessary to the
Zimbabwean internet space.

Opening Remarks:
MISA Zimbabwe Chairperson

02

Mr Golden Maunganidze, recently
elected MISA-Zimbabwe chairperson,
gave the opening remarks. He started
off by highlighting the progress that
had been made since the 2015 MISAZimbabwe Multi Stakeholder IGC. He

7 Tatira Zvinoira “Zim data costs nightmare”
8 “Data Must Fall: Right2Know June 16 Statement”

07

Misa Zimbabwe Second Internet Governance Multi
Stakeholder Conference 21 September 2017

explained how dialogue between the
various stakeholders involved in Internet
governance remains a challenging
but vital component in ensuring that
Zimbabwe has an open, accessible, and
free internet space. He said the main
challenge lies in convening successful
dialogue between State actors and
entities operating in the private sector;
due to the fact that in some instances
government interests in the internet
space appear to be at odds with the
interests of private sector actors such
as ISPs, MNOs, and the internet users
themselves.
Mr Maunganidze also spoke about the
high cost of data pricing and internet
pricing which remains a problem not
only for Zimbabwe7 but the region
as a whole, as shown by the recent
#DataMustFall movement in South
Africa.8 Data pricing remains one
of the major barriers to accessible

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