By Madi Jobarteh
On its website, PURA defined its functions as follows,
“To facilitate PURA’s regulation of public utilities, section 13(1) of The Gambia Public Utilities Regulatory Authority Act, 2001 (among other things) mandates PURA to provide guidelines on and examine rates and fees for the provision of regulated public services; protect the interest of consumers and of public utilities; monitor and enforce standards of performance by public utilities; and promote fair competition among public utilities.”
The people established PURA to serve their interests by ensuring that businesses provide quality and affordable products and services. Consumers are not meant to be exploited and taken advantage of by mobile network operators and public utility providers, as they have been doing. Unfortunately, since its inception in 2001, PURA has not been protecting and serving consumers as effectively and correctly as required by the law. Instead, it has always protected businesses against consumers.
Since the introduction of telephony and internet services in The Gambia, it is evident that these companies continue to generate profits year after year. Yet as they make a profit from the people, consumers continue to suffer from poor and expensive services, which are also not readily available in every part of the country. There is no mobile network operator – Gamcel, Africell, Comium, or Qcell – that provides high-quality services in every inch of the country.
The Gambian terrain is not challenging for any service provider. The country is a short, tiny piece of land divided by a navigable river. It is less than 500km in length and 80km in breadth at its widest points. There are no mountains, nor do we experience unending torrential rainfall or snowfall, hurricanes, or earthquakes in this country. The Gambia is not an island in the Atlantic Ocean, like Cape Verde, nor is it landlocked, like Mali. Practically, there are no natural barriers that will impose huge costs on any telephone and internet service provider.
Yet, service providers have refused to adequately invest in telecommunications and technology infrastructure, as well as in knowledge and skills, to ensure highly effective and efficient products and services. It is common to experience difficulties with telephone connectivity and communication at any time and on all networks. The internet is generally weak, making livestreaming, videoconferencing, online calls, and uploading or downloading of audio and video materials difficult. In many parts of the country, such services are even impossible.
There are many communities in this country where people must climb a tree, stand on top of a hill, or wait until a specific time of day or night to get a good reception. These unfortunate experiences of consumers are a result of the failure of GSM and internet service providers to invest in their infrastructure, products, and services, ensuring that customers enjoy quality services and value for their money. PURA should have prevented these terrible realities but failed.
By now, PURA should have developed the necessary standards in the mobile network to ensure that customers are obtaining excellent service, just as we experience when we visit Senegal, Ghana, or the UK. Regardless of one’s location in Senegal, they can enjoy outstanding connectivity, as well as reasonable internet costs. Why is the Gambia different?
The evidence of PURA’s inefficiency and disregard for customer interest while supporting businesses is their current decision to introduce ‘temporary floor prices for mobile data services.’ The new prices they impose do not make a difference for customers, but they protect the business. This is because, well before today, customers have been facing poor network services. PURA has never addressed that, despite receiving numerous calls through their hotline and hearing consumers express frustration at their Bantaba events.
Therefore, if GSM companies are engaged in a cut-throat tariff competition that has lowered costs for customers, PURA would rather insist that these companies enhance their quality and allow prices to decrease. Failing to do so, but seeking to stop tariff competition, means PURA is only interested in securing profits for GSM companies, not in ensuring quality and cost for consumers. Tariff competition primarily revolves around earnings and expenses for these companies. What about cost and quality for consumers? What is PURA doing about that?
PURA should serve consumers first and foremost by ensuring that consumers enjoy value for money in the products and services they buy. Consumers need quality services, which these businesses are not providing. This is what should concern PURA. If not, let the current PURA be dismantled and, in its place, a new entity that is fit for purpose be created.
