Mozambique: Combined profit of three largest banks stood at €314.6 million in 2023
Photo: MISA Mozambique
The Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Media Institute of Southern Africa – MISA Mozambique handed in a request to the telecommunications regulator on Wednesday to revoke the new tariffs applied by operators, claiming that they “violate” the rights of Mozambicans.
“We don’t understand, so far, what the real reason is for the increase in rates, not least because some operators are in favour of reducing Internet charges in Mozambique,” said Fátima Mimbire, vice-president of MISA Mozambique speaking to journalists after submitting the request to Mozambique’s National Communications Institute (INCM) in Maputo.
The NGO’s aim, also following the strong opposition in Mozambican society to the tariff changes over the last week, is to repeal the regulator’s resolution of 19 February, which set minimum tariffs for operators, which led to an increase in costs and the end of unlimited packages.
According to Mimbire, the resolution violates the rights of Mozambicans and the principles of civil service and decision-making in the public administration: “It’s a decision that was taken without proper grounds and the legal framework for the functioning of the public administration requires that all decisions be taken on the basis of fundamentals.”
Mimbire pointed out that access to the Internet is beginning to be a “fundamental human right” because it makes other rights possible, such as access to information, freedom of expression and guaranteeing citizen participation in public life.
The president of the INCM, Tuaha Mote, said last week that he had instructed telecoms operators to withdraw unlimited data and voice packages in order to avoid the “collapse of the market” and “unfair competition”, as well as to allow the market to open up more to attract investment in the sector.
The end of unlimited packages is prompting complaints from customers, as the executive director of consumer defence association ProConsumer previously told Lusa.
Without specifying figures, Alexandre Bacião said that the consumer protection organisation had been receiving complaints since May 4 about the alleged price hikes for packages, especially mobile data, causing “great inconvenience to the consumer”.
Mozambican activists have called for a national march on Saturday against the new tariffs applied by telecoms operators, calling for the repeal of the resolution setting minimum tariffs. “Regardless of the results of 18 May [the day of the announced march], if this decision is not revoked, we will continue to march and take action. The campaign will continue until the day of the repeal and we are ready to summon and agitate every citizen who is feeling the pain on their skin,” Quitéria Guirengane, a representative of the activist group, said on Tuesday after a meeting in Maputo with INCM leaders.
The National Union of Students (UNE) and the Association of University Finalist Students of Mozambique (AEFUM) also considered the new tariffs applied by the telecoms operators to be “inappropriate”, guaranteeing that they mainly affect students and young people.
“UNE and AEFUM should submit to INCM a term of reference which should include strategies for identifying students and websites for searching academic content, including downloading books, articles and other materials,” the organisations said in a statement released after a meeting with the regulator on Monday.
The INCM previously announced that, as of 4 May, telecommunications services would become cheaper on average, with the entry into force of tariffs in which operators adjust the minimum prices.
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