‘K5.4 m fine not enough’

BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes FINES lumped on Mobile Network Operators in Zambia (MNOs) should be broader and more punitive to push them into the right behaviour, as the marginal amounts do not dent their budgets and hence service delivery remains shoddy, an economist has observed. Last week, the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) fined […]

‘K5.4 m fine not enough’
BUUMBA CHIMBULU writes FINES lumped on Mobile Network Operators in Zambia (MNOs) should be broader and more punitive to push them into the right behaviour, as the marginal amounts do not dent their budgets and hence service delivery remains shoddy, an economist has observed. Last week, the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) fined the Airtel, Zamtel and MTN a total of K5.4 million for failure to provide quality services to consumers. But, Economics Association of Zambia (EAZ) National Secretary, Mutisunge Zulu, said the fine was not punitive enough to drive better service delivery. Mr Zulu said this with reference to the likes of UBS, Stanchart and Deustche Banks that had been fined by respective regulators adding that just a few years ago MTN was slapped with a record fine by the Nigerian authorities for non-compliance. He said the Zambian regulator could pick a leaf from the gravity of fines globally that drove optimal behavioural change for fines to make economic sense. “The argument has been for most analysts that if the fine is a fraction of the cost of the equipment needed to ramp up service, then it is unlikely that the right and desired behavior will be achieved by the regulator. “The world continues to see fines for various compliance breaches and the rationale behind the quantum is to ensure non recurrence and drive the right behavior,” Mr Zulu said. Mr Zulu said ZICTA was well mandated to fine the MNOs for poor service and other operational failures for up to 10 percent of annual turnover. He said fining MNOs in Zambia did not come as a surprise as generally the outcry had been that service provision continued to range between deteriorating to sub optimal. “The regulator has for quite some time fined MNOs with very similar non-compliance of standards which given the repetitive nature suggests a degree of complacency. “Most MNOs have cited the surge in demand for telecoms service, especially internet in the absence of higher augmentation for equipment to cater for new ways of work virtually, to the poor service in the period,” Mr Zulu said. The Sun