Telecel Zimbabwe bolts 5% levy on promotions

Telecel Zimbabwe bolts 5% levy on promotions

Zimbabwe's second largest mobile network Telecel is adjusting its promotion prices to factor in a 5% levy on data and voice services.

Zimbabwe finance minister, Patrick Chinamasa, announced the levy last month while he also said plans are in place to tax imports of handsets.

Increasing levies on Zimbabwe's mobile sector comes as government is increasingly squeezed for revenue streams.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund said it won't provide Zimbabwe with more loans until the country pays back old debts. According to the IMF, Zimbabwe is saddled with $142 million in arrears.

"Please note that due to the recent 5% levy on airtime Telecel will be changing some non-tariff aspects of our promotions and services. This means that some promotion and service benefits will be adjusted," the telecoms provider has said this week.

Other tariffs are not affected for now, Telecel said.

The mobile network operator has just under 2.5 million users in the country.

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