Poor cell phone network affects Shakadzha residents

In June 2014, Khuliso Musekwa was supposed to attend a job interview at one of the top hotels in the province.

However, her journey for the first chance of employment in her life disappeared after the cell phone signal dropped while she was still taking instructions from her prospective employers.

At 31, Musekwa is still sitting at home in Shakadza village, adding to the number of unemployed people in her area. She blames her unemployment status on the poor network in her area, which has also impacted badly on many of her fellow villagers, especially the youth.

Musekwa, who studied in the hospitality industry, says she even tried to call the hotel back the following day to push for her interview, but with no luck.

Another villager, Ronewa Netshokotshoko (22), also has a sad story to tell about the poor network reception in her area. Early last year, she failed to get an NSFAS bursary because she was not accessible on her phone.

“I applied for a NSFAS bursary.  Unfortunately, the process could not be completed because I did not get the SMS from the bursary office on time,” said Netshokotshoko. She is now studying for a qualification in financial management at a private institution.

“Since I lost the opportunity to get NFSAS funding, I have been forced to enrol with this private institution and I am now doing my second year with them. My self-employed father is paying R1 000 every month for my studies. This fee excludes meals and accommodation,” laments Netshokotshoko.

Another villager, Mukhethwa Mabila (23), is job hunting. “Unfortunately, I am not sure if they are inviting me for interviews, because my phone is not accessible because of the poor network reception in the area.” She added that her other concern was that most of the job applications require network coverage as she must log on to apply.  “That is not possible in our area because of the poor reception.”

Musekwa said that they were desperately looking for a solution to their challenges, as the matter was affecting their careers in a bad way. The spokesperson for Musina Local Municipality, Mr Wilson Dzebu, said they would try their best to see how they could help the affected community members of Shakadza.

“We will also check if there are other villagers within our jurisdiction and see how we can help,” said Dzebu.

Vhembe District Municipality spokesperson Matodzi Ralushai said they would work with Musina Municipality and see how they could get a solution to this challenge while engaging with the network provider.

“As a municipality, we are very touched by the plight of our people.  It is very touching to hear that some of the people, like the youth, are losing the opportunity to get employed because of this problem.  We hope that this challenge will be addressed soon,” said Ralushai.

News - Date: 10 September 2018

Ndivhuwo Musetha

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