Stakeholders in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, have blamed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for errors it committed while computing the new fine slammed on MTN Nigeria over its infractions recently.
NCC had admitted at the weekend that it goofed in computing the 25 per cent deducted from the original N1.4 trillion fine, saying, “the first letter was an error, and there has to be a correction. What happened was that the letter was approved by the president for 25 per cent but the person who prepared the letter typed 35 per cent on the document.
“Then there was a decision of discount of 25 per cent, which was the initial discount, which translates to N780 billion and the letter has been communicated to MTN. Usually, when we communicate, we give two weeks for response after that necessary action would be taken. But the most important thing is that the letter had been communicated and then we are not awaiting response.”
According to Isaac Emore, a telecoms analyst, NCC should have thoroughly checked the content of the letter before mailing it. “I think some people are not doing what they should do? How can the Commission say it was an error? Any document in black and white, and even as sensitive as in this context, should have been treated with caution. Nigeria is the only country in the world that ttreats serious issues with levity.”
Another stakeholder, Ini Obong, noted that NCC should not have written another letter for credibility sake but should have allowed sleeping dogs lie than to let the world know that it made a costly mistake.
“Any regulator must be above board and not be found wanting. It is just a pity that such is happening but I don’t see MTN paying either the old or the new fine. NCC has destroyed its case with the error.”
Recall that MTN Nigeria was given a 35 per cent reduction (N674 billion), last week as against the N1.4 trillion imposed on it by the regulator before discovering it ought to be N780 billion.
According to MTN, it received another letter from NCC on Thursday, stating that the fine had actually been reduced by 25 per cent (N780 billion), not by 35 per cent (N674 billion), as was stated in the first letter. The payment date remained December 31, 2015.
However, Amaka Jacobs said: “MTN must pay no matter the said mistake. The important thing is obeying the rule of the land. MTN took us for granted and so must pay. It has money and must not be left off the hook. The letters may be misleading but MTN must pay and that should be the crux of the matter,” she said.
On whether MTN would ask for further reduction, NCC’s spokesman, Tony Ojobo, said in Lagos during NCC’s Lawn Tennis Competition, that when the Commission gets to that bridge, it would cross it.
“I can’t pre-empt the decision of the Commission. The Commission would have to weigh the options before it takes a decision. We are conscious of the level of investment that MTN has made in this market. It also has the largest share of subscribers. It is also important to know that the Nigerian telecoms market must be regulated. And we have taken all these into consideration, that was why there was a discussion in the first place because when there is sanction, there is need to go and pay.
“On the issue of sanction, one important statement we need to make here is that where there is law, the law is there to protect both the strong and the weak, even regulators that put laws in place do so to protect the investor and also the consumer. The reason is that the same law that sanctions is also the same law that protects; protection in the sense that the regulator cannot act outside of the law. The investors can be rest assured that as far as investment is concerned, the regulator cannot wake up one day and close down their business.”
The NCC Public Affairs Director also maintained that every investor across the world wants to find out if there is rule of law in that place and if there is fairness. They also want to know if there is justice, and “if I had issues, for instance, in the regulating environment, would the law and the regulator be able to protect me? Is the regulator independent enough to take decisions? These are things investors are looking for and, of course, in the event that there is an issue, is it possible for us to have an arbitration, can I have international arbitration from where I’m coming from? Before now, people have said that the reason we have sanctions in this industry is that the penalties are just there and that there was need for us to redo our guidelines where, for instance, companies are paying N500,000 for some sanctions. What we discovered was that for some people, it was easier for them to pay the penalty and get away with the infraction.”
Ojobo further disclosed that in 2011, when the decision was reached on the guidelines for Subscribers Identity Module (SIM) card deactivation, all stakeholders agreed that this was something for them to do in the light of the security challenges in the country and there was a need for a sanction. A kind of penalty that would be on everyone operating in the environment, that if the penalty is too low people would just go ahead and do whatever they like. That’s why we agreed on N200,000 as the penalty for any SIM card discovered to be improperly registered.
“The thing about the regulator is that we are not looking at only the environment; we are looking at all of the members of the Eco system. We are looking at the government, the consumer, the investor and the operator but since you already have a guideline, the Commission has no other option than to enforce that.
“Of course, MTN’s fine was huge because of the number of SIM cards involved. The regulator wants to have discipline in the market place, it wants to see that these directions and directives are complied with, it wants to see that the operators are obeying the laws of the land.
“In the past, we have heard people plead for leniency when they are sanctioned. A lot of people were concerned because of the volume of amount of money. In some nations, for instance, they tell you that certain offences carry death penalty. It’s not because that nation wants people to die, but it’s because they want a situation where the offence is measurable with the punishment that would be meted when the person is caught. In some nations, they don’t have that but what they have is long term imprisonment. So, if you look at having to be in prison for 20 years and committing that act, you would rather not commit it because of the consequences. That is the way regulation is, the guidelines are there and everybody is a friend of the regulator until there is a breach.”
The reason you have to do that is, if you don’t do what you are supposed to do, then you can create news. And then everybody can do theirs and say, after all when the other person did theirs, there was no consequences, so you have to apply it in such a way to show that you are dispassionate to show that you are not biased, to show that you are actually playing according to the rules,” he said.
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