In a move aimed at tracing each and every mobile phone in the country, Zimbabwe’s telecommunications regulator, POTRAZ has announced that it will soon make it a requirement for each and every mobile phone in the country to be registered.
According to the regulatory body, the exercise is aimed at reducing cybercrimes in the country by creating a nationwide database that can trace and block stolen or illegally obtained mobile phones.
A live system named Central Equipment Identification Database (CEID) will have the capacity to disable handsets that are flagged as stolen or lost. With doing so, only the owner of a handset will have the capacity to use his/her handset only.
Potraz’s competition and standards manager, Hasha Myambo confirmed that they are in conversation with the Government and other major stakeholders across the telecommunications industry to make cellphone handset registration compulsory.
“There is a need for appropriate policies to address the different vices that happen in cyberspace,” said Myambo.
It now remains to be seen if the country’s authorities will not use this proposed system to do a surveillance on people violating their rights to privacy.
It will also be a huge mountain to climb for the regulatory body to implement or enforce the regulation in the country considering the sophistication of the exercise.
