We act as neutral arbitrator – NCA
The National Communications Authority (NCA) said on Monday that it is up to its responsibility of acting as a neutral arbitrator to investigate and resolve complaints and disputes between subscribers and their licensed operators and anybody involved in the communications industry.
It said in a statement issued in Accra that before it could act, the Authority has to know about the complaint or grievance and this should be done through channels the NCA had laid down that people and organisations had made use of.
The statement was in reaction to publications by one Dr Ben Ofosu-Appiah, a policy analyst, who said NCA should put telecommunications companies in check.
Dr. Ofosu-Appiah claimed he could not “fathom out what’s going on in Ghana” and wondered whether Ghana had “become a lawless country where state institutions don’t work and people don’t honour their contractual obligations and no sanctions applied to them.”
The statement said NCA did not have knowledge of any contract between Vodafone and Dr Ofosu-Appiah until he wrote to the Authority on May 22, 2012 to complain and NCA acted with dispatch.
It said Dr. Ofosu-Appiah acknowledged “the prompt attention” NCA gave the issue for which reason Vodafone apologised and delivered the service paid for.
The statement said Dr Ofosu-Appiah did not inform NCA about the outcome of its intervention but he went further to ask whether telecommunications companies in the country are “taking Ghanaians for a ride because the NCA which is supposed to regulate their activities isn’t up to the task”.
“That is unfortunate being that Dr. Ofosu-Appiah had acknowledged the prompt attention to his issue and an equal swift apology and righting of the wrong by Vodafone.”
The statement said with regard to the personal commercial contract between Dr Ofosu-Appiah’s mother and MTN on a lease agreement, NCA was at a loss as to how he would expect the NCA, which was not a party to his transactions, to have any knowledge of his engagements.
It said NCA got to know about it when he decided to make the transactions of his family with the telecommunication company public and sent NCA a complaint on June 17, 2012.
Per a reply from MTN on June 19, 2012, MTN had apparently made an attempt to settle their indebtedness with his mother but were unable to do so because they could not contact her on the telephone number she provided on a document she forwarded to them. MTN also claimed to have communicated same to Dr. Ofosu-Appiah and encouraged his mother to forward her bank details to them for direct payment into her bank account.
The statement said NCA is called upon by communities like Parkoso to impress on telecommunication companies to de-commission telecommunication masts for fear of disasters.
It said NCA’s complaint procedure requires that a dissatisfied or aggrieved consumer should first contact the service provider and if not satisfied with the response the consumer may lodge complaint with the NCA.
Source: GNA