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Econet bars prepaid customers from making international calls
The Herald (Zimbabwe)
April 11, 2007

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ECONET Wireless has with immediate effect barred all its prepaid customers from making international calls citing foreign currency shortages.

The company says the ban will help conserve the little foreign currency at its disposal for other critical business transactions.

In an interview yesterday, Econet Wireless managing director Mr Douglas Mboweni said only the Business Partna customers would continue to have access to international calls.

"Econet has two packages — the prepaid package (Libertie and Buddie) and the Business Partna.

"The Business Partna is for corporates and business people and we feel calls from these packages would generate more foreign currency for the country. The foreign currency that we are having at the moment is not enough to handle all subscribers, hence we are reserving the little that we have for business organisations.

"Individuals, from now onwards are no longer in a position to make international calls as they used to do due to foreign currency constraints,’’ said Mr Mboweni.

However, individuals can still access the short message services (SMS) to other international mobile operators.

"Individuals can send their peers SMS and receive international calls, thereby earning foreign currency for the country," he added.

However, Econet customers feel the company has shortchanged them by not advising them in advance of the development.

"From last week I have not been able to make internationally calls and I feel Econet as a corporate should have been responsible enough to forewarn their prepaid customers, who form the bulk of their subscriber base, of the termination of this service," said an irate customer who only identified himself as Moyo.

However, Mr Mboweni insists his company had taken this decision as a survival strategy in a harsh economic environment. "This was after realising that most individuals were using the mobile network to make private international calls than receiving the external calls, which are paid for in hard currency.

"The mobile operator is then forced to pay more for the call in foreign currency although the calls are charged in local currency. We are no longer accessing enough foreign currency so that we remain viable, so we have only opted to give priority to business people.

"In fact, the company has failed to meet the demands of international tariffs. Instead of earning foreign currency we are paying out much more in forex."

Mr Mboweni also welcomed the decision by Government to charge import duty on cars and other luxury items in foreign currency saying the shift would help boost the country’s foreign currency coffers.

"I totally support Government on charging duty for the importation of vehicles in foreign exchange as it will save and also mobilise a lot of foreign currency that can be channelled to other important sectors of the economy," he said.

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