TTCL acts tough on debt defaulters

LYDIA SHEKIGHENDA

TANZANIA Telecommunication Company (TTCL)’s defaulters are at risk of having their services disconnected if they fail to clear their outstanding bills amounting to 11.5bn/- within two weeks.

The state-owned company issued a fourteen-day ultimatum through its public notice dated February 23, this year, to indebted customers to clear their outstanding bills within the given period to avoid unnecessary inconveniences.

TTCL Public Relation Manager Nicodemus Mushi told the 'Sunday News' in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the customers owed his company a total of 11.5bn/- by end of January, this year, most of them being public institutions and ministries.

"We are very serious on this. We are going to disconnect the services for those who will not clear their bills because we need money to implement our plans. We intend to extend 4G LTE services countrywide," he said. He also said that the company is currently investing in advanced technologies in order to provide high quality and modern services.

Mr Mushi noted that the fourteen-day notice issued by the company is routine and it does not interfere with the recent ultimatum given by the Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa, in Dodoma.

He said following the directives by the PM, some customers have started communicating with his company to verify their outstanding debts while others have began to clear their bills.

Mr Mushi, however, commended all royal customers who meet their obligations on time and called upon all defaulters to do the same in order to enable the company to continue providing quality and affordable services.

Mid this month Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa gave the TTCL defaulters until June 30, this year, to settle their debts to enable the firm to operate profitably and reduce dependency on government subsidy.

Premier Majaliwa tasked the Minister for Works, Transport and Communication, Prof Makame Mbarawa, to have talks with all defaulters, in particular the public institutions which owe the state-owned company huge amounts of money on how they will pay after evaluating the debts.

"The minister should take charge of this and give me the feedback on implementation before the start of the next Parliament budget meeting in June,” he insisted. He gave the directive at an event for launching TTCL’s 4G LTE internet held at the Parliament premises.

His firm statement came after learning from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the TTCL, Mr Waziri Kindamba, that among the major challenges that afflict the company was lack of capital that would enable the firm to purchase modern equipment that could replace the outdated ones.