NetOne distances itself from inflated Zimbabwe dollar, USD rate for airtime

NetOne, the leading government-owned mobile telephone company has dismissed a post by journalist Hopewell Chin’ono alleging that it is now using a rate of Z$40,000 to US$1 for airtime sales.

In his post on X, formerly Twitter, Chin’ono argues that Zimbabwe is in hyperinflation and has the highest inflation rate in the world.

“Hyperinflation is an extreme and rapid increase in the prices of goods and services within an economy. It leads to massive devaluation of the currency as is happening with the Zimbabwean dollar which lost 96% of its buying power in the last twelve months rendering it worthless.

“The government is printing money, taxes have gone up, there is no meaningful production taking place, and the government is the heartbeat of corruption in Zimbabwe through the central bank. The government won’t dollarise because the discredited local currency is the one used to siphon public funds by powerful ZANU-PF political elites and their surrogates. Zimbabwean businesses are using the black market rate,” Chin’ono said.

In a public notice in response to the post on X by Chin’ono, Netone refuted reports regarding the sale of NetOne airtime at unauthorised prices.

“We would like to emphasise that NetOne Cellular does not endorse or authorise the selling of airtime above the gazetted prices by relevant regulatory authorities. The pricing model of our products and services is guided by the official exchange rate.