Maputo, 10 Jul (AIM) – The Mozambican government has relieved Tuha Mote of his duties as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the National Communications Institute (INCM), the regulatory body for telecommunications, after he was involved in the controversial increase of tariffs for internet, voice and SMS services, which were later suspended.
The new tariffs for internet, voice and SMS services were put on hold following a recommendation from the government to review the study that was used to calculate the increased prices of services. Although described euphemistically as a “recommendation”, the government dispatch was effectively an instruction.
At the time, the INCM claimed that the increase of tariffs for internet, voice and SMS services was to ensure the sustainability of the telecommunications market, and to avoid any collapse. But none of the operators had suggested that they were on the verge of collapse or that the market was in any danger.
No company had requested that the regulator push up tariffs, and none had claimed that the tariffs practiced were anti-competitive. It seemed that it was only the INCM that imagined there was a threat to the sustainability of the market.
A wave of protest led the government, and eventually the INCM, to think again. In a brief note announcing the suspension of the new tariffs, the INCM said additional studies are underway, in coordination with telecommunication companies, “in order to follow up on the recommendations of the government.”
The Deputy Justice Minister and government spokesperson, Filimão Suaze, announced the dismissal of Mote, on Tuesday, in Maputo, at the end of a meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet). He said that Helena Maria Fernandes, formerly an executive manager of the INCM, has been appointed as the new INCM Chairperson.
Suaze also announced changes on two other state institutions under the aegis of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
Chingune Mabote is no longer chairperson of the National Road Transport Institute (INATRO). He is replaced by Nelson Nunes, a former director of Maputo-Sul, the company that operates the Maputo Ring Road
The chairperson of the Mozambique Airports company, Americo Muchanga, has also been removed, but no replacement has yet been announced.
(AIM)
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