By A Correspondent
Victoria Falls – In a move raising eyebrows among digital rights activists, the Zimbabwean government has signaled a heightened push to consolidate control over cyberspace, with officials citing national security and cyber threats as justification.
Speaking at the opening of the SEAT Africa Summit in Victoria Falls, Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, Honourable Tatenda Mavetera, revealed plans that could reshape the digital landscape—particularly around social media governance and data monitoring.
“We must take cyber security seriously—not just from an infrastructure standpoint, but also in how information flows across platforms,” she said. “We’re in discussions to restructure the role and training costs of Data Protection Officers, ensuring that our surveillance and data governance tools are not only effective but widely deployed.”
Though framed as an effort to make Data Protection Officer (DPO) training more affordable—currently priced at US$1,250—critics fear the underlying goal is to increase state oversight over digital communications.
“This is not just about reducing training costs,” one cybersecurity analyst said anonymously. “It’s about putting more government eyes on social media, encrypted communication, and data flows.”
Zimbabwe currently ranks 134th globally in terms of exposure to cyber threats, a statistic the government has repeatedly used to justify tighter regulations. However, rights groups warn that these statistics are increasingly being used to silence dissent and curtail freedom of expression online.
Minister Mavetera hinted that outcomes from the summit would influence upcoming policy reforms, particularly in digital governance and procurement. “We are going to embed these insights into our governance systems. We need to adapt quickly to the digital era—and that includes how we manage information and dissent.”
Chairperson of SEAT Africa, Mr. Victor Marawu, took a more business-oriented stance:
“Delegates are already identifying actionable insights. The final report will be distributed across Africa to ensure that these learnings benefit both businesses and policymakers.”
Yet, as the government ramps up cyber regulation efforts, questions continue to mount about the real motives behind the push—cybersecurity, or censorship?