…As Native Consortium mobilises 500 litigants!
September 21, 2017 BY Ishmael Sallieu Koroma
Determined Consortium executive
Native Consortium and Research Centre has threatened to commence litigation against telecommunication operators in the country for what they described as ‘the poor standard of performance in their services’ and failure of the National Telecommunication Commission to exercise and perform its statutory mandate to enforce compliance by operators to provide quality services to Sierra Leoneans.
The consortium yesterday addressed journalists at the Peace Hall, home of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone after retaining the services of Freetown-based lawyer, Musa Pious Hermor Sesay.
Edmund Abu Junior, Executive Director of Native Consortium and Research Centre, accused telecoms operators in the country of cheating and unfairly treating their subscribers across the country.
“We started last year with this issue and we wrote an open letter and then NATCOM called us and invited all the CEOs in a round table,” Abu Jr. said.
The consortium boss opined that the mobile companies are behaving like corporate gangsters and that fines could no longer serve as a deterrent to their ‘cheating game’.
“We have exhausted all avenues but no better service delivered by the mobile operators,” he further said.
He claimed that they had done a research which revealed that mobile companies were making disproportionate profits.
He added that the mobile companies flagrantly flouted and refused to provide proper service when they were asked by the regulator, NATCOM, to offer free service to subscribers.
He disclosed that they have secured the acquiescence of some five hundred litigants, but urged more people to join the fight against the companies.
“This case is going to be a landmark case as it has never taken place in West Africa. We want to set precedence for our jurisprudence,” said the Native Consortium boss, adding that the case was winnable.
He stated that their lawyers are ready to file papers in court and that they have nothing to lose.
Meanwhile, both NATCOM and the two major mobile phone operators in the country – AIRTEL/Orange and Africel – have remained tight lip over the threatened mass action against them.