Zambia’s government has announced plans to impose tax on internet phone calls. The move according to the government is to help raise revenue and protect jobs in the telecommunications sector.
Government spokesperson, Dora Siliya said the decision was taken after a cabinet meeting on Monday.
Citizens will now be charged $0.03 (30 ngwee) as a daily tariff for making calls through platforms such as WhatsApp, Skype and Viber.
Siliya said the charge will be made through mobile phone operators and internet providers. The government said research shows that that 80% of Zambians use Whatsapp, Skype and Viber to make free calls.
Dora Siliya said charging for making calls on such social media platforms will protect traditional providers such as Airtel, Zamtel and MTN.
In July the government hinted of introducing tough measures to clampdown on social media usage.
Zambia’s Communication Minister Brian Mushimba then said that Zambians were committing crimes with social media.
The minister told parliament that social media users are engaging in identity theft, sending pornographic images and spreading hate speech.
New laws
The new laws are yet to be debated by the lawmakers. It will however be enforced from next year.
The minister says the new laws should reduce the number of Zambians who fall victim to identity theft.
Mushimba said “Incidents of impersonations, people being insulted, abused, falsely accused or defrauded on social media platforms have reached an alarming state”.
Uganda in June rolled out a tax regime which affects social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook. The country’s Parliament had passed the law that imposes a tax of $0.05 daily for each social media user.
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni described social media as a “luxury by those who are enjoying themselves or those who are malicious…all the moral reasons are in favour of that tax”.
Source: Africafeeds.com
