Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Dr Faustine Ndugulile, has directed the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority’s Consumer Consultative Council (TCRA-CCC) to work on complaints by consumers against mobile phone companies over alleged fraud on internet and airtime bundles.
Dr Ndugulile issued the directive on Wednesday in Dar es Salaam when he visited the TCRA-CCC for a familiarisation tour, which also aimed to draw the roadmap in line with their laid-down objective.
According to the minister, complaints have been aplenty from the public about packages offered by telecom operators, insisting that it is vital to work on them and come up with long-lasting solutions.
He said the information he had was that consumers were complaining about the internet bundles and airtime packages including high charges compared to the packages given as well as expiry of bundles.
“I have decided to start with this issue because there have been a lot of complaints about the services provided by mobile phone operators, especially on the packages they provide. Consumers feel they are being cheated while charged a lot of money,” he said.
The minister further directed the council to start recording complaints they have been receiving from users of telecommunication services and show how they have addressed them.
“We want to see by numbers how many complaints you have received, how many you have worked on, what is left and why, including ones that are reported regularly, so as the ministry can come in and find a solution,” he said.
Responding, TCRA-CCC Executive Secretary, Ms Mary Msuya acknowledged that there were rampant complaints against telecommunication companies from customers and pledged to work on the minister’s instructions.
“We are moving towards a digital economy, consumers are increasing rapidly and even mobile services have increased as well, so we plan to follow the minister’s instructions in ensuring every user enjoy and see the productivity of the services they receive,” she said
For his part, the Acting Director General of the ICT Commission, Eng Samson Mwela said they have commenced the registration of ICT professionals to identify them and their areas of specialisation.
“The decision is important in achieving the fourth industrial revolution that is being shaped by ICT so it is important to recognize these experts and the expertise they have,” he said.
During the visit, Dr Ndugulile was accompanied by his deputy Eng Andrew Kundo who emphasized technology as a key pillar in the fourth industrial revolution.
“When inaugurating the 12th parliament, President John Magufuli highlighted an important role ICT Commission has in ensuring that the country reaches the fourth industrial revolution. We want the commission to make sure it raises the capacity of our local experts,” said Eng Kundo.
According to the report released by Research ICT Africa Internet, data charges in Tanzania are the cheapest in East Africa, the region has one of the cheapest internet charges on the African continent.
The reports further show that Tanzania leads in low cost, at 4,950.52/- followed by Rwanda 4995.94/- Kenya 5540.95/- Uganda 6199.50/- and Burundi 6858.06/- as of September 2019.
