Opinion / Columnist
Econet Anti- Ndebele
01 Mar 2017 at 12:24hrs | Views
Dear Editor,
I was excited when I saw an article purportedly being a response on the valid concerns of the tribalistic tendencies of Econet as I thought that it was a response from the company. My heart sunk when I realized that it was a poor public relations attempt by one Dalu Mhlanga whose limited assistance by Econet at personal level have clouded his judgment and severely compromised his objectivity.
I was in Harare when Econet in 1998 was eventually awarded its operating licence and I vividly remember that we even went for a braai to celebrate the achievement. Little did I know that I will as I was before migrating to another network inundated with messages even in the middle of the night all in Shona. If Econet genuinely believes in use of vernacular there is nothing that stop them from separating their subscribers by language preference. Why have they never sent everyone on their network a message in Tonga or Ndebele.
A few years ago Econet embarked on a retrenchment exercise in Bulawayo. 99% of those who were retrenched were Ndebele and their names can be availed if needs be as we were their clients and we know them. All the positions were subsequently filled by Shonas after the retrenchment. Dalu fails to address the core issues raised by Ncube that all senior positions and board membership are reserved for Shonas. There was a senior manager by the name Ncube who left under a tribal cloud to join a rival company to long ago.
Econet may pretend that we are foolish. It may hope that we are uneducated as their claim. Ndebele people are deep. When we hit Econet it will hurt most. Most of my friends long abandoned this tribal and anti-Ndebele company and have migrated to another network. What is irritating is that these imported Shona employees, feel too important to learn Ndebele. In their ignorance they are unaware that as part of the Nguni language Ndebele is understood by close to 50 million people in Southern Africa. There is no need to be arguing about this clearly tribalistic company. As Ndebele speakers we have the power to choose our service providers and I am shocked that there is any self-respecting Ndebele still using services of a company that has demonstrated utter contempt for our culture, our language and our values. Iqaqa kalizizwa ukunuka.
Yours
Lihle Moyo
I was excited when I saw an article purportedly being a response on the valid concerns of the tribalistic tendencies of Econet as I thought that it was a response from the company. My heart sunk when I realized that it was a poor public relations attempt by one Dalu Mhlanga whose limited assistance by Econet at personal level have clouded his judgment and severely compromised his objectivity.
I was in Harare when Econet in 1998 was eventually awarded its operating licence and I vividly remember that we even went for a braai to celebrate the achievement. Little did I know that I will as I was before migrating to another network inundated with messages even in the middle of the night all in Shona. If Econet genuinely believes in use of vernacular there is nothing that stop them from separating their subscribers by language preference. Why have they never sent everyone on their network a message in Tonga or Ndebele.
A few years ago Econet embarked on a retrenchment exercise in Bulawayo. 99% of those who were retrenched were Ndebele and their names can be availed if needs be as we were their clients and we know them. All the positions were subsequently filled by Shonas after the retrenchment. Dalu fails to address the core issues raised by Ncube that all senior positions and board membership are reserved for Shonas. There was a senior manager by the name Ncube who left under a tribal cloud to join a rival company to long ago.
Econet may pretend that we are foolish. It may hope that we are uneducated as their claim. Ndebele people are deep. When we hit Econet it will hurt most. Most of my friends long abandoned this tribal and anti-Ndebele company and have migrated to another network. What is irritating is that these imported Shona employees, feel too important to learn Ndebele. In their ignorance they are unaware that as part of the Nguni language Ndebele is understood by close to 50 million people in Southern Africa. There is no need to be arguing about this clearly tribalistic company. As Ndebele speakers we have the power to choose our service providers and I am shocked that there is any self-respecting Ndebele still using services of a company that has demonstrated utter contempt for our culture, our language and our values. Iqaqa kalizizwa ukunuka.
Yours
Lihle Moyo
Source - Lizwe Moyo
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