Chitownews has developed an android mobile application that seeks to cater for ordinary citizens of Chitungwiza who are interested in local news but are limited by the high prices of mobile data tariffs that are prevailing in Zimbabwe.
The failure by Mobile Network Operators (MNO) and Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ) to reduce the data tariffs to affordable prices that are user friendly to those who frequently use the internet has led Chitownews to develop a mobile application for its news readers.
The mobile application is available on the www.chitownews.com website and on google play store on the following link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chitownews.newsapp&hl=en
The mobile application comes at a time when Chitungwiza residents have been finding it difficult to access local news at a cheaper cost.
The application can download the pages to your mobile phone so that one can read the news while offline thereby reducing the costs of accessing information.
Tinashe Mapuranga, a university student said the application has been convenient enough for him as it saves him money whilst providing him with relevant updates of news and events taking place on the local scene.
“I think the developed Chitownews application is affordable than getting bundles to log on to the internet. You just click on to the application then all the local news will be to your display even if you are away from Chitungwiza, your town will be in your pocket,” said Tinashe Mapuranga.
The mobile application has been appreciated by the youths whom the majority spend time on street corners and pool tables due to unemployment.
Kudakwashe Kumuchedza an associate of Mahwindi said the mobile application carries the stories of Chitungwiza as a whole therefore there was no need for him to ask what had transpired anywhere around the town.
“The Chitownews application gathers the latest news from each and every corner of the town right to my palm therefore there will be no need to trouble someone asking on what is really transpiring in Seke or Nyatsime beyond my reach. So I say the application is my new employee, it works for me kutsvaga nyaya (find stories),” said Kudakwashe Kamuchedza.
“The Chitownews application is a brand for everyone who hails from the town and is an important application in accessing relevant local developmental information,” continued Kamuchedza.
“An application of this kind is easy to manage unlike website sources which are expensive to access using mobile internet,” continued Kamuchedza.
The application has been welcomed by citizens as it keep them informed of local developments which primarily affect their day to day living.
Chitownews is a project of Chitungwiza Community Development Network (CCDN), which seeks to promote free expression, information and communication rights among the majority of citizens who are deprived of local news and information.
Chitungwiza Community Development Network (CCDN), Information Officer Miss Margaret Chogugudza said information has to be disseminated in the simplest and cheapest ways that consumers will easily get the details they need.
“The sharing of information from one person to another has to be quick, simple and affordable to minimise costs and increase the viewer capacity. News has to be available to everyone’s capacity despite ability or occupation especially in this harsh economic era where a family is living on less than $1 per day. Therefore the mobile application is a gate pass to exercising communication rights for everyone who hails from Chitungwiza.”
