FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1April 2014 The African National Congress welcomes the bold and decisive steps recently taken by our government to ease the burden of high communication costs and access to credit for many South Africans. The Removal of Adverse Consumer Credit Information Regulations (Credit Amnesty) and the ICASA-spearheaded review of regulations governing mobile termination rates are part of the good story and commitment of the ANC and its government to create an envi...ronment that stimulates economic growth and meaningful economic participation for all. The Credit Amnesty which comes into effect today, 1 April 2014, seeks to remove barriers to accessing credit and also assists those consumers who can afford credit to access credit. It is further aimed at redressing failure, in certain instances, of credit providers to consider broader economic factors when granting credit. This decisive step to provide credit amnesty to our people further intends to assist consumers negatively impacted by economic recession and we expect that its implementation will, amongst others, remove barriers to employment and broaden access to credit for credit seekers. This regulation will address the blacklisting of millions of consumer who have paid their debts but are still prevented by listings in credit bureaus from gaining access to credit, accommodation and even jobs. We join Cabinet in noting that access to a sustainable credit market is essential to all developmental goals. The decision of the ICASA to review the call termination rates between mobile operators must be hailed as a bold step towards reducing the overall cost of telephony and communications in South Africa. It is the legitimate expectation of all South Africans that ICASA should regulate in the public interest, and thus we applaud the Authoritys effort to bring down the cost of telecommunications. ICT, with mobile telephony at its core, is a critical enabler for economic activity in an increasingly networked world. We trust that during the six months mandated by the court for ICASA to develop new regulations, all stakeholders will co-operate to reach agreement on acceptable regulation and price levels which are in the public interest and sustainable. Issued by Jackson Mthembu National Spokesperson African National Congress Enquiries Keith Khoza 0828239672 Khusela Sangoni 0728545707
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 18:46:20 +0000
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