Focus Media (Kigali)
Abraham Rumanzi
12 November 2009
MTN last week announced that it has not increased its tariffs, after several airtime vendors had asked more than the price mentioned on the cards.
The telecommunications company, which has been overwhelmed by complaints about the price hike of its air-time cards, last week set the record straight: there has been no increase in tariffs, this has been an initiative taken by individual vendors, and they are not allowed to do so.
MTN chief operating officer Andrew Rugege advised the public to avoid buying cards at more than the normal price, and call the customer care hotline 456 to report such incidents. "We have not increased our tariffs, and we are ensuring that vendors and distributors involved in the malpractice are arrested," Rugege stressed.
The announcement comes after numerous reports of vendors who charge customers for the free bonus airtime that comes with a card, while others have arbitrarily increased the normal tariff by two to three hundred francs.
The MTN official also dismissed claims that an ongoing restructuring program in the company might have encouraged some distributors to surcharge vendors who buy the air time cards from them, and cautioned distributors and vendors who try to take advantage the restructuring to stop the illegal act.
"The reforms are aimed at improving our services and won't affect the prices," Rugege remarked.
Concerning the suggestion that the hike might be caused by low profits made by vendors, he said he was optimistic that ongoing reforms would provide favorable profits.
He also noted that there were ongoing awareness and training programs for vendors through their various associations, aimed at improving their marketing skills.
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