By Saumu Mwalimu and Bernard Lugongo, The Citizen Reporters
In Summary
Selcom is the largest vendor of Luku services
through all four mobile financial service operators namely Vodacom’s
M-pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money and Zantel’s EzyPesa, 35 banks through
mobile banking and over 11,000 retail points of sale terminals
countrywide as it accounts for 75 per cent of all Luku traffic
countrywide.
Dar es Salaam. Dar es Salaam residents were
forced to spend long hours queuing at various Luku vending stations
after a mobile system went down and Tanesco stopped using Selcom
services.
Selcom is the largest vendor of Luku services
through all four mobile financial service operators
namely Vodacom’s M-pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money and Zantel’s EzyPesa, 35 banks through mobile banking and over 11,000 retail points of sale terminals countrywide as it accounts for 75 per cent of all Luku traffic countrywide.
namely Vodacom’s M-pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money and Zantel’s EzyPesa, 35 banks through mobile banking and over 11,000 retail points of sale terminals countrywide as it accounts for 75 per cent of all Luku traffic countrywide.
But on Thursday the minister for Energy and
Minerals, Mr George Simbachawene, directed the state-run power firm,
Tanesco, to stop its contract with Selcom on allegations that the latter
had failed to deliver.
It seems that Tanesco took the decision without
proper planning as spot checks established long queues at almost all
luku vending stations operated by Tanesco itself.
This reporter witnessed a long queue at Mlimani
City vending station that made some customers wait up to 11pm before
they were able to buy power.
Ms Caroline Robert told this paper, her attempt to
purchase power via her mobile phone failed since Wednesday until
Thursday evening when she received a notification from her mobile
network that she cannot get the service and urged her to go for it to a
nearby Tanesco Luku agent.
“I am here since 6pm, and as you can see it’s 9.30
already. I have to get power because I don’t have a single unit and my
home is in darkness,” she said.
Another customer who introduced himself as Mr
Salum, who is running a pub in Sinza surbub blamed Tanesco for failure
to notify its customers.
In another development, Tanesco said in a
half-page statement yesterday that its customers could purchase power
from Maxcom centres, CRDB and NMB Bank ATMs, NMB mobile banking as well
as Tanesco offices countrywide.
The statement issued by Tanesco Public Relations
Office at the headquarters in Dar es Salaam said, as part of measures to
minimise the crisis, all Luku centres selling Luku would remain open
from 8 in the morning to 8 pm on all days, including Saturdays, Sundays
and public holidays.
Meanwhile, barely a day after Energy and Minerals
Minister George Simbachawene directed Tanesco to revoke its contract
with Selcom, the company appealed to him to rescind his decision
yesterday.
Mr Simbachawene’s directive came after alleged
failure in supplying pre-paid power (Luku) service to its customers and
violating tax requirements.
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