Work on completing a fibre optic cable link from Zimbabwe to the high-speed undersea broadband network SEACOM has been stalled as a result of a lack of funds.

The first phase of the project, linking Harare to Bulawayo, has been completed. But the Zimbabwean government has not paid the required $14.5 million required to complete the final stage of the project, which connects Bulawayo to South Africa’s Beit Bridge border post.

The whole project was initially projected by the government to be complete by the middle of this year.

And the postponement is a serious knock to Zimbabwe’s hopes of improving its connectivity, especially as the country’s broadband costs rank among the highest in Africa, according to BuddeComm research.

“We still hope we will make it,” said Zimbabwe’s information and communication minister Nelson Chamisa.

“We ran into some logistical problems and we now need $14, 5 million to complete the project,” he said.

However, Chamisa said missing the initial deadline of the project is not a sign that the government is not committed to the project.