Matobo: As the sun sets in Zimbabwe’s Matobo Mountains, boys throw stones to drive away baboons. The goal is not to enjoy the dark scene, but to find a compact web without disturbing the wildlife.
Located 50 km (31 mi) from South Africa’s second largest city, Bulawayo, Siloshi sits on a converging black hole.
To outsiders, the daily stream of villagers up the mountain may seem like a pilgrimage to a rain ceremony, but making phone calls, sending messages and checking social media is a social pathway.
“I have grown up the way I am, it’s hard for me to climb the mountain, sometimes I still can’t hold it together,” said his mother Sakhile Sibindi, 60, who walked five kilometers from her house to get there.
The problem of rural connectivity is not unique to Zimbabwe.
According to the United Nations, about a third of the world’s population, or 2.6 billion people, will not have access to the Internet in 2030.
“The Internet is an important tool for accessing information, job opportunities and education. Those who do not understand can be left behind,” said the United Nations International Telecommunication Union in its 2023 report.
In sub-Saharan Africa, one in four people use a mobile phone to access the internet – but 15 percent of the population lives in areas without coverage, according to telecoms industry group GSMA.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its unique rock formations, Matobo Hills offers some relief to Siloshi residents.
Sibindi, however, has some glaring weaknesses, such as the ability to hear the calls of other hunters.
“You don’t have any privacy if you get a bond,” she said as she returned from a routine health check-up.
“Sensitive family issues are recognized by the entire village.”
Availability is also an issue.
If they die, you leave the dead body at home because you can’t call for help,” said Sibindi.
Some locals have found jobs with skills.
Mobile phones are attached to sticks in the yard or tied to the branches of trees that are common to search for nets around.
Anna Tio, 42, whose husband works in South Africa, uses an old metal bucket to make a net under a tree they are guarding.
“One day I got tired of walking across the fields in the sun, so I sat under this tree watching some videos on my smartphone,” he said.
“WhatsApp messages started coming in and I found this set.”
Others asked bus drivers and shopkeepers to tell them in writing or verbally.
Living in offline areas can be very expensive for those who want to work in countries with high levels of poverty and unemployment.
Buhosibethu Moyo, a 29-year-old construction contractor, said the coverage gap is costing customers and their money because he cannot make calls or make mobile payments.
“A lot of my clients can’t come to me for days,” he said.
“They hire people who are available online from the city.”
According to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe has more than 97 percent mobile coverage and more than 14.5 million active subscribers in a country of 16 million people.
But the government admits that integration in rural areas is a problem.
He promised to invest and recently launched a program to equip rural schools with computers.
Communications Minister Tatenda Mavetera said on Twitter in March: “We now have a fiber optic network, a National ICT Policy and a Smart Zimbabwe master plan.”
But progress was slow and many villagers felt neglected.
“We are part of this country and we deserve to take advantage of the opportunities that exist in urban areas,” said Tio.
