Despite network providers being impacted by load shedding, no management schedule has been implemented.
This image on Facebook of a load-shedding management schedule for Zambia’s three mobile service providers; Airtel, Zamtel and MTN that has made rounds on social media is fake..
The schedule which bears the logos of the three telcos claims to show a schedule for when network services will be interrupted on 10 July 2024.
However, despite citizens battling with a poor network from the service providers, the schedule is fabricated.
A review of the social media handles of all three telecommunications companies revealed that no such schedule was posted.
A statement by the Global System for Mobile Communication Association of Zambia (GSMAZ) published on MTN Zambia’s Facebook page indicated that the telecommunications sector has, like most other sectors, been affected by the prolonged load shedding that the country is currently facing.
The statement also notified Zambian citizens that the network providers were working on getting solar-powered backup solutions for medium to long-term solutions given that the network towers’ backup power sources could only sustain them for four hours during load shedding.
However, the joint statement had no information about a load-shedding management schedule.
Further, Airtel Zambia flagged the schedule as fake on its official Facebook page and a call to MTN and Zamtel also confirmed that the schedule was fake and urged citizens to regard it as such.
The purported load-shedding management schedule circulating on social media is entirely fictitious.
While these providers are indeed experiencing disruptions due to the country’s ongoing load-shedding issues, there is no official management schedule in place.
This fact-check was produced by Bloggers of Zambia, under the African Fact-Checking Incubator programme, with support from PesaCheck, Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, and the African Fact-Checking Alliance(AFCA).
