Maravi

MTN scandal prompts tight monitoring mechanism

MTN scandal prompts tight monitoring mechanism
By Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
Thu 26 Apr. 2012, 08:20 CAT

THE Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has decided to tighten its monitoring mechanism after the arrest of an MTN Zambia IT specialist who allegedly manipulated the system to make his girlfriend win K1 billion as grand prize money.

CCPC public relations officer Vaida Bunda said in a statement yesterday that the Commission's executive director Chilufya Sampa was saddened that despite numerous strides made to urge business houses to consider consumers first, most firms still had loopholes in their systems which make it easy for consumers to lose out.

"The Commission has noted with regret that there appears to be loopholes in some of these competitions that are being run in the country. We have therefore decided that the best possible way of curtailing some of the loopholes is by having compliance programmes with such companies where the Commission will have to go through the operations of the competition before it starts running" stated the CCPC.

The CCPC further stated that in future, it shall require all companies running competitions to submit the rules, conditions and operations of the specific competitions before making them public to ensure that consumers were adequately protected from unfair practices.

"The CCPC has noted that while most of these competitions are initiated in good faith, business houses should always go a step further to ensure that all monitoring mechanisms are in place and if possible employees that are directly involved are cautioned and made to sign agreements," it stated.

"The Commission would also like to urge the general public to refrain from engaging in activities that might jeopardise other people's chances of genuinely winning competitions."

And Anti Corruption Commission spokesperson Timothy Moono said the MTN Zambia Let's Go BEEG promotion K1 billion prize money fraud raised suspicions.

He said the manner in which some promotions were done lacked transparency and accountability.

"Some promotions, they indeed raise some questions. People want to know how they are done. In the interest of accountability and transparency they should be a way for the public to know how it (promotion) is being done. Implications are that people become scared to participate in promotions and will be very reserved because they don't want to lose their money," Moono said.

Jones Ilukena an IT specialist at MTN has been arrested for allegedly manipulating the system to make Namuchana Sinuma of Livingstone win the "Let's Go BEEG" K1 billion prize money.

MTN has since offered to re-run the draw.

Labels: FRAUD, MTN

posted by MrK @ 4:04 PM