The Platform of Human Rights Defense Associations (PADDH) denounced in a press release received this Wednesday by the AIB, “with the latest energy, commercial practices the limit of economic gangsterism” of mobile telephone operators in Burkina.
In a press release received this Wednesday by the AIB, the Platform of Associations for the Defense of Human Rights (PADDH) said it noted “with amazement that mobile telephone operators have refused to implement the Authority’s decision. regulation of communications and posts (ARCEP) establishing the conditions and modalities for the provision of services.
The latter, indicates the press release, “reproach ARCEP for having taken a measure against the interests of consumers and fixing the detailed prices of services. As the deadline for implementing the decision approached, they filed an appeal for annulment of the measure with the Council of State and an interim order for its suspension.
According to the spokesperson for the Platform, Adama Bayala, “we clearly see that the operators refuse to apply the decision, which came into force on September 13, 2023 at 12 am”.
He stressed that “this decision offers the possibility (to customers) of making calls on all networks with bonuses; to send SMS messages on all networks with bonuses; to set a minimum period of one month for any subscription greater than or equal to 1 gigabyte; to cut the shortest bonuses, before tackling the longest bonuses; to reimburse the cut bonuses, after subscribing to a similar offer”.
The Platform, through the voice of its spokesperson, “denounces with the utmost energy commercial practices bordering on economic gangsterism (of mobile telephone operators)”.
She also denounces “the violation of our laws, the contempt for our institutions and the decision of ARCEP which is enforceable and finally denounces the voracity of mobile telephone operators, incapable of establishing win-win partnership relationships with consumers whom they simply perceive as cash cows to be squeezed.”
The PADDH says it does not understand “the backpedaling of mobile telephone operators who had nevertheless committed, on April 14, to consider revising the validity period of offers; the cost of the connection; better management of consumer bonuses; better readability of paid services (offers)”.
Adama Bayala “calls on government authorities to ensure compliance with the laws” and “especially ARCEP to trigger the disciplinary sanctions mechanism”.
In his opinion, “the ARCEP decision is a small step forward which should be followed by other more important ones for affordable prices and quality services”.
Finally, the PADDH spokesperson “calls on consumers to STAY MOBILIZED and DETERMINED, while waiting for the slogans to come”.
The Platform “reserves the right to assert its rights before the judge, not without noting that referral to the judge does not exempt operators from applying the decision. It therefore reserves the right to organize more vigorous actions to ensure respect for the rights of the Burkinabe consumer,” he asserts.
Source: Burkina Information Agency