Zimbabwe's telecoms sector gets tougher on service standards as Liquid launches enforceable Customer Charter

HARARE — Zimbabwe’s telecommunications companies are now under regulatory pressure to publicly commit to measurable service standards, with Liquid Intelligent Technologies becoming the latest operator to launch a Customer Service Charter backed by mandatory reporting to the industry regulator.

The charter, unveiled during Customer Service Week 2026 under the theme “We Go the Extra Mile,” commits Liquid to track customer satisfaction metrics and submit results to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ). The move aligns with Statutory Instrument 154 of 2024, which empowers POTRAZ to enforce key performance indicators and penalise licensees for non-compliance, including directing compensation for poor service.

Service as competitive differentiator

Liquid Zimbabwe CEO Lorreta Songola said the charter reflects a shift in how the company views customer experience not as a department, but as the entire business. “Customer expectations keep rising, and we operate in a market where the quality of service can be as important as the product or solution itself,” Songola said. She said the company has increased frontline staff to resolve issues faster and tracks both Customer Satisfaction Scores and Net Promoter Scores through surveys, with results submitted to POTRAZ as a form of public disclosure.

“Our regulator has made it more visible, and they have ensured that all service providers should be able to launch a customer charter,” Songola said. “It is not just a touch, a charter of words, it is a commitment of how we are responding to the market.”

CEAZ pushes national service culture

The Customer Experience Association of Zimbabwe (CEAZ) is working with regulators beyond telecoms, including the central bank and insurance and pensions authorities, to embed customer-centric culture nationwide.

CEAZ executive secretary Dr Rinos Mautsa said Zimbabwe’s National Customer Satisfaction Index reached 66 percent in 2024, above the Sub-Saharan Africa average of 62 percent but still below the recommended best practice of 76 percent. Sectors such as local authorities (43 percent), public service agencies (49 percent) and hospitals (51 percent) continue to lag, while hotels and tourism led with scores above 80 percent.

AI and the limits of automation

CEAZ board member Ekem Mudavanhu noted that businesses are moving from basic chatbots to agentic AI that interprets customer needs. But he cautioned against over-reliance on technology.

“You cannot 100 percent substitute a human with AI,” Mudavanhu said, citing bereavement and other sensitive situations where empathy matters. He said CEAZ trains organisations to balance automation with human support, reflecting a broader recognition that service quality, not products alone, will determine competitiveness in Zimbabwe’s increasingly crowded telecoms market.

Liquid Intelligent Technologies Customer Service Charter Zimbabwe