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1. It’s turning out to be a “perfect storm” - a particularly bad situation sparked by the simultaneous convergence of adverse conditions. The major fallout from the Econet situation is not the disruption of its traditional services but one product that impacts the payment system. 
2. Over the years, the government has virtually abdicated its traditional role in managing the national payment system to the tech-giant, via its arm EcoCash. It was clear & warnings were given that if EcoCash sneezed, the payment system would catch a serious fever.
3. To understand EcoCash’s power you have to look at the numbers: it has 98% market share in the mobile money market; its transactions account for 70% of the GDP (everything that we produce); its subscribers are 80% of the adult population. It is powerful.
4. Most people got a taste of this power on Saturday, when the entire network and associates services virtually shut down. They could not transact using EcoCash, which has become the preferred & popular method of transacting. Indeed, it has its own rate on the parallel exchanges.
5. Now Econet has issued a fire warning. It says the situation is untenable due to a variety of factors, mainly power shortages which are affecting operations & the rise in fuel costs which are making alternative power sources expensive & finally sub-economic tariffs.
6. The company has warned of drastic measures if no solution is found. People will complain about data & calls but by far the biggest impact will be far beyond Econet’s traditional province. It will be in financial services - the payment system where it dominates.
7. Message to government is if the fuel sector is so critical to deserve special favours don’t ignore telecoms. In an economy short of cash, mobile network operators control a significant chunk of the payment system. Government has little leverage. Printing notes is not an option
8. Government is weak because it outsourced its function to private companies and has no control or immediate substitute. It’s another of the RBZ’s clangers. The mobile money companies seemed convenient but they are now so powerful that government has very few, if any, options.
