Reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa - President Jacob Zuma already has three wives and numerous children. He has survived a trial on charges that he raped the daughter of an old friend; and in a country with one of the highest HIV rates on Earth, he has been forced to apologize publicly for having unprotected sex.
His acknowledgment this week that he had fathered one more child, by many counts his 20th, outside his three marriages has launched another sex scandal, one that shows no sign of going away any time soon.
Details of the 67-year-old president's sex life contradict the government's HIV/AIDS campaign, an important element of which is reducing rampant promiscuity. But the scandal appears to have hit a deeper nerve: a sense that Zuma crossed an invisible line.
The birth of his latest child unsettled his core supporters, traditionalists who accept polygamy but regard having a child outside those multiple marriages as improper. Many other South Africans, particularly urbanites, are disquieted by polygamy. The practice sits awkwardly with the country's stated commitment to gender equality.
Zuma ignored revelations of the birth of his latest child for three days, then issued a brief statement Wednesday acknowledging paternity and attacking the news media. That only made things worse: Critics attacked his view that the news media had no right to probe his private life
After the blaring headlines ("Shame of a Nation") and cartoons ("The Sex-President"), Zuma canceled public engagements for two days, citing his workload.
One of his sons, Duduzane Zuma, released a rare statement Friday begging the media to leave his father alone: "We as a family are content with the polygamous nature of our household. We are content to have 20 siblings or more."
The weekly Mail & Guardian newspaper was having none of it.
"Over and over President Jacob Zuma has asked South Africans to stretch tolerance to its dizzy limit, and by and large we have complied," it said in a stinging editorial. "But this week, from dusty streets and taxi ranks to cocktail bars and Facebook pages, it was clear that the elastic had snapped."
It accused Zuma of betraying the public trust after the apology that followed the 2006 trial in which he was acquitted of raping the daughter of a longtime family friend. "I erred in having unprotected sex," he said then. "I should have known better."
In court testimony, he said he had showered afterward because he believed it would reduce the likelihood of contracting AIDS from his HIV-positive accuser.
The acquittal and apology helped clear the path for Zuma, a longtime power in the governing African National Congress, to become president last year.
Zuma has been married to his first wife since 1973. One spouse committed suicide in 2000, leaving a note that life with him was "hell." He divorced South Africa's current home affairs minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in 1998. But he married another wife in 2008, and a third just a month ago.
The mother of his latest child, a 4-month-old girl, is Sonono Khoza, a bank official and daughter of an old friend of Zuma: Irvin Khoza, the head of South Africa's 2010 soccer World Cup organizing committee. Because of strictures in Zulu culture on having a child outside multiple marriages, Zuma had to pay damages to the family.
Mail & Guardian columnist Charlotte Bauer said in an interview that she initially couldn't embrace Zuma's polygamy, but after a lot of thinking and many discussions with friends, she accepted it as part of the country's reality.
But a public show of tolerance by many South Africans that is at odds with their private views on polygamy may explain the depth of the backlash, she said. "South Africans are quite conservative people in terms of morality and family and God and Christ," she said. "People have suddenly gone: 'Look, you had a very big canvas to paint on, mate, and you went over the limit.' "
Zuma recently defended his polygamy at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying he loved all his wives equally, and adding with a smile that some Zulu people believe their culture is superior.
Others say bad timing sharpens their embarrassment over Zuma's behavior. In March, Zuma plans to visit Britain, where he will meet the queen and Prince Charles. In June, South Africa hosts the soccer World Cup tournament.
Said an editorial in the Star newspaper this week: "His rampant libido has made South Africa a laughingstock of the world."
Opposition political party Congress of the People (Cope) is to refer the issue of communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda's relationship with companies that benefit from lucrative contracts with state-owned enterprises to the Public Protector.
Juli Kilian, Cope's communications spokesperson in Parliament, says the documentation to take to the Public Protector is being finalised and the complaint should be formally lodged by the middle of next week.
She says her party believes Nyanda's business interests are in conflict with Section 96 of the Constitution, as well as Section Two of the Executive Members' Ethics Act, no 82 of 1998.
In terms of the Constitution and the Act, members of the executive are prohibited to: undertake any other paid work; expose themselves to any situation involving risk of conflict between their official responsibilities and their private interests; use their positions or any information entrusted to them to enrich themselves, or improperly benefit any other person.
They also may not act in a way that could compromise the credibility or integrity of their office or the government.
Cope believes Nyanda is in breach of the Act in respect of circumstances and elements surrounding contracts between his General Nyanda Security Risk Advisory Services and Transnet Freight Rail, and also other government departments.
“His declaration to Parliament and his excuses to the effect that he is no longer participating in the day-to-day running of the company are naïve,” she notes.
Kilian asserts that the fact of the matter is that he remains a direct financial beneficiary of profits derived form the contracts between his personal interests and government departments and parastatals.
Kilian says it is unfortunate that the ANC majority in Parliament would stifle open investigations into these alleged serious Constitutional transgressions, which compels her party to approach the Public Protector.
A Department of Communications spokesperson previously stated Nyanda's interest had been declared to Parliament and the minister was not involved in the day-to-day running of the security company.
Facebook is taking full control of display ads on the world's top social networking Web site, cutting short an exclusive deal that had allowed Microsoft to manage part of that business. However, Microsoft, the exclusive provider of Web search on Facebook, will continue to sell text-based search ads on the Web site as the partners extended the arrangement beyond 2011, when it had been due to expire. A Facebook spokesman declined to say how long the deal has been extended.
Microsoft also said it will further integrate its Bing search engine into Facebook while expanding its reach beyond the US. Facebook, which counts nearly 400 million users, said its own display ads feature interactive aspects and can target viewers based on their personal information, making them better suited to its social networking service than Microsoft's standard Web banner ads. "Ad formats that feature social actions perform better and provide a better user experience since they are more consistent with the look and feel of Facebook," the company said in a statement. "This combination of targeting and social relevance is the primary driver behind the shift in strategy." Facebook said it stopped displaying Microsoft banner ads in some international markets recently, and following additional talks with Microsoft, has agreed to stop running the banner ads across all of Facebook. The change will take place over the next 30 days. Facebook has long sold its own display ads on users' profile pages and other parts of the site, but the company allowed Microsoft to sell banner ads in certain sections of its Web site in 2006. The deal, which was extended in 2007, was supposed to run until 2011. A Facebook spokesperson would not provide details on whether the advertising deal with Microsoft entailed any revenue-sharing agreement, or whether Facebook would pay Microsoft a fee for altering the deal early. The news comes as Facebook has increased its focus on its financial performance. In September, Facebook said it had become free cash flow positive, meaning the company makes enough money to cover the costs associated with running the service, ahead of schedule. Microsoft said on its corporate blog that Web searches within Facebook will bring up information from Bing beyond just links to Web sites. Microsoft's search technology will be available on Facebook worldwide, instead of just the US, it added. Facebook, which lets users connect and share information with friends online, has emerged as one of the Internet's most popular destinations and is increasingly challenging the Web's established powerhouses like Yahoo and Google. Microsoft invested $240 million in Facebook for a 1.6% stake in the company in October 2007. Facebook said it expected to reach 400 million active users of its site within the week, representing a gain of 50 million new users since December. The company also announced a new design to its homepage.
MTN's call centre queue started at 6 800 calls to process on Friday morning, with most of the calls related to the company's billing trouble.
“We are literally working our socks off trying to resolve the trouble our customers are going through at the moment,” says the company's customer relations executive, Eddie Moyce, speaking exclusively to ITWeb on the matter.
While MTN is fielding a mass of calls, Moyce says there seems to have been a drop off in the number of unhappy customers with billing queries.
At the end of January, ITWeb discovered that MTN clients were being debited up to tens of thousands of rands from their accounts for back-charges on data accounts. One customer, Benzi Kornizer, is rallying others into a class action lawsuit against the mobile giant.
Moyce admits that switching over to the new billing system has been a nightmare for both the company and its customers, adding that there has been more than one problem with the system since it was implemented.
However, he notes that MTN is working around the clock to try and solve everyone's problems as soon as possible. “We are working hard to ensure a situation like this never happens again.”
Moyce says customers could be facing one or more of three possible problems with their accounts, from double billing to under-billing or incorrect rate charges.
The problem that most customers face is one that stems from September last year, when customers were not billed at all for that month. “We only picked up that we did not charge clients in that month a few weeks later when we completed the reconciliation between systems,” says Moyce.
He adds that not billing a large number of customers who were affected would have resulted in a serious revenue knock for MTN. “We then decided to notify our customers of the problem and have the amounts deducted from customer accounts.”
Many subscribers were enraged that MTN simply debited accounts for the outstanding amounts, and others could not pay the sums that MTN had requested. Moyce says MTN is happy to work with each client to find a payment plan, if they are having trouble paying the owed amounts.
One customer managed to run up a bill of R60 000, and one ITWeb reader has a R91 000 bill. However, Moyce explains that the customer with a R60 000 bill has approached MTN and the company has proved the client did spend that amount.
Part of the customer's trouble was Microsoft automatic updates, which used enough bandwidth over five months to account for R21 000 of his bill. Moyce says he has discounted the customer some of that money and a payment plan has been implemented for the rest.
“I feel for those customers who have managed to spend that much money; and I will try and help where I can,” he says.
The customer implementing the class action against MTN, Kornizer, met with the company's top level executives on Friday to try and resolve his problem. MTN has provided him with everything he has asked for; however, it is still unclear whether he will pursue the possible court action.
The second billing issue will see many customers receive a refund from the operator. Moyce says several subscribers have been double billed and MTN is processing the refunds.
The double billing has been narrowed to one particular geographic area, which it declined to disclose. “It was caused by a fault in one of our switches, which in turn created the double bill,” explains Moyce.
The third billing problem stemmed from people not being properly discounted on certain promotions. The company is investigating which customers were affected by this and is working to apply a credit process with the correct discounts applied.
Moyce says he understands that finances are an emotional issue. Not only are most South Africans taking strain with the economic downturn, December and January are sensitive months financially.
However, Moyce says that, for most of the queries the company is fielding from clients, it can prove where or how each customer spent the money they are trying not to pay. “We have found that many customers have gone out of bundle, which is a premium service.”
However, Moyce says MTN has learned a lot from its billing debacle, which he hopes will help the business implement better customer checks and controls. He says MTN will look into a process of letting data customers know they are out of bundle, and ensure clients are aware the cost out of bundle is far higher than when in bundle.
He adds that the company will make more of an effort to educate customers on how data is billed, and perhaps help them to manage their data usage better. “Implementing this billing system has been a complicated situation. We have not had a similar situation in 10 years.”
Moyce has also asked customers to remember that, while they may be angry or frustrated, the call centre staff members manning the frontlines are also people, and none of them are responsible for the billing trouble.
Online gambling is still illegal in SA, and is set to remain that way until a commission has wrapped up its findings to present to Parliament.
In addition, there is no clarity as to what happens if South Africans win money offshore, and try to bring their winnings back into the country. The local gambling industry is worth about R212 billion, but the size of the online industry is difficult to quantify.
Nomfundo Maseti, the Department of Trade and Industry's chief director of policy and legislation, says “online gambling is not allowed in SA at the moment”. She explains that there are no regulations in place to regulate the industry.
Maseti says South African gambling online are doing so illegally and could forfeit their winnings. “It's a risk that they take... you've engaged in an illegal activity.”
However, the department does not have any information on how much is being won illegally in SA. ITWeb understands there are about 500 000 online gamblers in the country.
The Gauteng Gambling Board says Internet operators that offer online gambling to South African residents are operating illegally. Punters can be punished with a R10 million fine or 10 years in jail, based on a 2006 court ruling, it says on its Web site.
While online – or interactive – gambling was set to be legislated by the National Gambling Amendment Bill, this law has not yet been signed into law by president Jacob Zuma. The Bill was drawn up as part of government's plans to tighten regulations on interactive gambling and reduce offshore control.
However, last August, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry requested that the implementation of the regulations on interactive gambling be delayed so that the legislation could be reviewed. The department is now reviewing the entire industry.
Online gambling could still become legal in SA, but that would depend on a report by the Gambling Review Commission, which is reviewing all aspects of gambling, explains Maseti.
She says the commission aims to wrap up an initial report by mid-year, and present it to trade and industry minister Rob Davies, who will then take it to both houses of Parliament for consideration.
Online gambling is potentially a big revenue-spinner, and the department has already had several applications for online gambling licences, notes Maseti. “They can't wait forever.”
There are several aspects that need to be taken into account. Among these is how to limit online gambling to adults, and concerns that gambling could be associated with criminal acts, like money laundering.
Maseti says the department also needs to look at how an online gambling industry would affect the current industry, and whether there would be any erosion of market share, for example.
In addition, the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, which requires individuals to disclose their personal details, like their ID number and proof of residential address, would also be applicable to players taking part in interactive gambling.
Maseti adds that players would have to create an account limited to a credit card or cheque account, and present a bank stamp to confirm the validity of the respective account. No cash transactions would be allowed and players could have up to R20 000 in their accounts.
If government decides in favour of online gambling, the National Gambling Board would only issue 10 licences. Gambling operators would be required to prove they have a physical presence in SA and their financial transactions would have to be located within South African borders.
Steven Ambrose, MD of World Wide Worx Strategy, says “the Internet is breaking down barriers and creating issues for regulators”, because of the multinational nature of the Internet and the players.
He adds that “in the absence of clarity, everyone is doing what they want”.
Companies are often at a loss when trying to brief freelancers or agencies on their marketing needs and strategy, says Jo Duxbury, who introduced the Peppermint Source outsourced marketing management service this week.
As a new division of freelancer directory Freelancentral.co.za, it aims to serve as a bridge between the client and freelancer or marketing agency, as an alternative to employing larger agencies or managing freelancers personally, explains Duxbury.
“We started receiving calls from clients asking for freelancers, but they weren't sure what exactly they wanted; there was no strategic advice and they didn't know how to brief or manage freelancers.”
She adds that enquiries from companies on the challenges of trying to do their own marketing revealed a gap in the market. “I was contacted by a few clients on the pitfalls of DIY marketing – that and the calls we were getting planted a seed.”
In March last year, Freelancentral started managing outsourced marketing for clients and increased demand led to Peppermint Source becoming an official division.
Apart from conducting 'healthchecks', audits, strategy planning, and marketing project implementation, Duxbury notes Peppermint Source has a pool of 4 500 freelancers to source for creative input. “We also only bring in a creative when they're needed, which is efficient and cost-effective.”
Duxbury says many companies keep meaning to do things like upgrade their Web sites, refresh their brands, or send out a regular newsletter, but never get around to it. “DIY marketing can often do more harm than good, or doesn't get done at all. If you outsource you know it will get done and get done right the first time.”
According to Duxbury, it's essential to take into account the company's overall business strategy and translate it into the marketing strategy. “If a client wants to move into certain industries or has a particular set of business values, then it has to be carried through from their newsletter to e-mail to stationery, as well as the bigger elements.
“The big thing is consistency, so if the client has a brand it has to be consistentlycommunicated throughout the marketing campaign.”
According to Duxbury, mapping out an effective marketing strategy involves a robust thinking process to identify interesting elements of the company's product or service. “While the actual content of the copy or Web site may vary, we take a lot of time to understand the client and their market.
“Often a strange, niche industry seems challenging at first, but you work with the client and find an interesting message about whatever they do.
“It's an exciting challenge to find the gems and messages a company hasn't been communicating; and seeing a light go on in a client's mind when they realise this. It's about finding things in the company that are already there, and uncovering them to promote the business.”
As social media becomes an increasingly formidable force in corporate marketing, Duxbury says there are generally two responses. “Some companies are just scared of it and completely daunted by the thought of social marketing, with agencies full of creative executives and jargon.
“Others feel they have to do everything, and get someone to manage their Facebook page, Twitter feed, and so on, but it's not always relevant or effective,” says Duxbury.
“Last year, we saw a lot of clients throwing out traditional marketing such as print advertising, and going online. But it's not always relevant and companies often do it simply because they feel they have to jump on the bandwagon.”
She adds that one of Peppermint Source's aims is to demystify this process, and make it simple and pragmatic. “There's a misconception that marketing is difficult and expensive, and that you need to spend a lot of money to get a significant impact. But if you outsource it doesn't need to cost the earth and you can focus on the things you do well,” notes Duxbury.
MTN is set to bundle Kaspersky Mobile Security packs to new contract customers on Nokia and HTC smartphones with Symbian and WinMobile operating systems. The mobile operator says this comes in response to the demand for adequate mobile protection in the consumer and corporate market.
Kobus van Vuuren, MD of telecommunications security supplier, Fox IT Software Solutions, points out: “People are beginning to realise that if their phones are not properly protected, this can lead to security vulnerabilities if the device is lost or stolen, even if it has been reported to the police and their service provider.” Teddy Maduna, senior manager of MTN SA device portfolio management, explains that Kaspersky's mobile software enables a user to locate a lost smartphone by sending out an SMS with a password to the lost device; which is linked to Google Maps to locate the device's location. He adds: “In addition, the anti-theft module allows the owner of the device to block access to and, if necessary, delete the device's memory simply by sending a password via SMS to the number.” Another feature, says Maduna, ensures that even if the SIM card is removed, the SIM Watch module sends a hidden message notifying the owner of the new number in the smartphone. “This function allows the subscriber to delete any data or block the phone, and assists in tracking down the stolen device and returning it to its rightful owner,” he adds. Kaspersky Mobile Security 8.0 provides anti-virus, firewall, and anti-spam software. It also features a parental control component, which allows parents to restrict messages to their child's phone. The SMS Find function enables parents to determine the location of their children if their smartphones are fitted with GPS.
Reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa - President Jacob Zuma already has three wives and numerous children. He has survived a trial on charges that he raped the daughter of an old friend; and in a country with one of the highest HIV rates on Earth, he has been forced to apologize publicly for having unprotected sex.
His acknowledgment this week that he had fathered one more child, by many counts his 20th, outside his three marriages has launched another sex scandal, one that shows no sign of going away any time soon.
Details of the 67-year-old president's sex life contradict the government's HIV/AIDS campaign, an important element of which is reducing rampant promiscuity. But the scandal appears to have hit a deeper nerve: a sense that Zuma crossed an invisible line.
The birth of his latest child unsettled his core supporters, traditionalists who accept polygamy but regard having a child outside those multiple marriages as improper. Many other South Africans, particularly urbanites, are disquieted by polygamy. The practice sits awkwardly with the country's stated commitment to gender equality.
Zuma ignored revelations of the birth of his latest child for three days, then issued a brief statement Wednesday acknowledging paternity and attacking the news media. That only made things worse: Critics attacked his view that the news media had no right to probe his private life
After the blaring headlines ("Shame of a Nation") and cartoons ("The Sex-President"), Zuma canceled public engagements for two days, citing his workload.
One of his sons, Duduzane Zuma, released a rare statement Friday begging the media to leave his father alone: "We as a family are content with the polygamous nature of our household. We are content to have 20 siblings or more."
The weekly Mail & Guardian newspaper was having none of it.
"Over and over President Jacob Zuma has asked South Africans to stretch tolerance to its dizzy limit, and by and large we have complied," it said in a stinging editorial. "But this week, from dusty streets and taxi ranks to cocktail bars and Facebook pages, it was clear that the elastic had snapped."
It accused Zuma of betraying the public trust after the apology that followed the 2006 trial in which he was acquitted of raping the daughter of a longtime family friend. "I erred in having unprotected sex," he said then. "I should have known better."
In court testimony, he said he had showered afterward because he believed it would reduce the likelihood of contracting AIDS from his HIV-positive accuser.
The acquittal and apology helped clear the path for Zuma, a longtime power in the governing African National Congress, to become president last year.
Zuma has been married to his first wife since 1973. One spouse committed suicide in 2000, leaving a note that life with him was "hell." He divorced South Africa's current home affairs minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in 1998. But he married another wife in 2008, and a third just a month ago.
The mother of his latest child, a 4-month-old girl, is Sonono Khoza, a bank official and daughter of an old friend of Zuma: Irvin Khoza, the head of South Africa's 2010 soccer World Cup organizing committee. Because of strictures in Zulu culture on having a child outside multiple marriages, Zuma had to pay damages to the family.
Mail & Guardian columnist Charlotte Bauer said in an interview that she initially couldn't embrace Zuma's polygamy, but after a lot of thinking and many discussions with friends, she accepted it as part of the country's reality.
But a public show of tolerance by many South Africans that is at odds with their private views on polygamy may explain the depth of the backlash, she said. "South Africans are quite conservative people in terms of morality and family and God and Christ," she said. "People have suddenly gone: 'Look, you had a very big canvas to paint on, mate, and you went over the limit.' "
Zuma recently defended his polygamy at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying he loved all his wives equally, and adding with a smile that some Zulu people believe their culture is superior.
Others say bad timing sharpens their embarrassment over Zuma's behavior. In March, Zuma plans to visit Britain, where he will meet the queen and Prince Charles. In June, South Africa hosts the soccer World Cup tournament.
Said an editorial in the Star newspaper this week: "His rampant libido has made South Africa a laughingstock of the world."
Opposition political party Congress of the People (Cope) is to refer the issue of communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda's relationship with companies that benefit from lucrative contracts with state-owned enterprises to the Public Protector.
Juli Kilian, Cope's communications spokesperson in Parliament, says the documentation to take to the Public Protector is being finalised and the complaint should be formally lodged by the middle of next week.
She says her party believes Nyanda's business interests are in conflict with Section 96 of the Constitution, as well as Section Two of the Executive Members' Ethics Act, no 82 of 1998.
In terms of the Constitution and the Act, members of the executive are prohibited to: undertake any other paid work; expose themselves to any situation involving risk of conflict between their official responsibilities and their private interests; use their positions or any information entrusted to them to enrich themselves, or improperly benefit any other person.
They also may not act in a way that could compromise the credibility or integrity of their office or the government.
Cope believes Nyanda is in breach of the Act in respect of circumstances and elements surrounding contracts between his General Nyanda Security Risk Advisory Services and Transnet Freight Rail, and also other government departments.
“His declaration to Parliament and his excuses to the effect that he is no longer participating in the day-to-day running of the company are naïve,” she notes.
Kilian asserts that the fact of the matter is that he remains a direct financial beneficiary of profits derived form the contracts between his personal interests and government departments and parastatals.
Kilian says it is unfortunate that the ANC majority in Parliament would stifle open investigations into these alleged serious Constitutional transgressions, which compels her party to approach the Public Protector.
A Department of Communications spokesperson previously stated Nyanda's interest had been declared to Parliament and the minister was not involved in the day-to-day running of the security company.
Facebook is taking full control of display ads on the world's top social networking Web site, cutting short an exclusive deal that had allowed Microsoft to manage part of that business. However, Microsoft, the exclusive provider of Web search on Facebook, will continue to sell text-based search ads on the Web site as the partners extended the arrangement beyond 2011, when it had been due to expire. A Facebook spokesman declined to say how long the deal has been extended.
Microsoft also said it will further integrate its Bing search engine into Facebook while expanding its reach beyond the US. Facebook, which counts nearly 400 million users, said its own display ads feature interactive aspects and can target viewers based on their personal information, making them better suited to its social networking service than Microsoft's standard Web banner ads. "Ad formats that feature social actions perform better and provide a better user experience since they are more consistent with the look and feel of Facebook," the company said in a statement. "This combination of targeting and social relevance is the primary driver behind the shift in strategy." Facebook said it stopped displaying Microsoft banner ads in some international markets recently, and following additional talks with Microsoft, has agreed to stop running the banner ads across all of Facebook. The change will take place over the next 30 days. Facebook has long sold its own display ads on users' profile pages and other parts of the site, but the company allowed Microsoft to sell banner ads in certain sections of its Web site in 2006. The deal, which was extended in 2007, was supposed to run until 2011. A Facebook spokesperson would not provide details on whether the advertising deal with Microsoft entailed any revenue-sharing agreement, or whether Facebook would pay Microsoft a fee for altering the deal early. The news comes as Facebook has increased its focus on its financial performance. In September, Facebook said it had become free cash flow positive, meaning the company makes enough money to cover the costs associated with running the service, ahead of schedule. Microsoft said on its corporate blog that Web searches within Facebook will bring up information from Bing beyond just links to Web sites. Microsoft's search technology will be available on Facebook worldwide, instead of just the US, it added. Facebook, which lets users connect and share information with friends online, has emerged as one of the Internet's most popular destinations and is increasingly challenging the Web's established powerhouses like Yahoo and Google. Microsoft invested $240 million in Facebook for a 1.6% stake in the company in October 2007. Facebook said it expected to reach 400 million active users of its site within the week, representing a gain of 50 million new users since December. The company also announced a new design to its homepage.
MTN's call centre queue started at 6 800 calls to process on Friday morning, with most of the calls related to the company's billing trouble.
“We are literally working our socks off trying to resolve the trouble our customers are going through at the moment,” says the company's customer relations executive, Eddie Moyce, speaking exclusively to ITWeb on the matter.
While MTN is fielding a mass of calls, Moyce says there seems to have been a drop off in the number of unhappy customers with billing queries.
At the end of January, ITWeb discovered that MTN clients were being debited up to tens of thousands of rands from their accounts for back-charges on data accounts. One customer, Benzi Kornizer, is rallying others into a class action lawsuit against the mobile giant.
Moyce admits that switching over to the new billing system has been a nightmare for both the company and its customers, adding that there has been more than one problem with the system since it was implemented.
However, he notes that MTN is working around the clock to try and solve everyone's problems as soon as possible. “We are working hard to ensure a situation like this never happens again.”
Moyce says customers could be facing one or more of three possible problems with their accounts, from double billing to under-billing or incorrect rate charges.
The problem that most customers face is one that stems from September last year, when customers were not billed at all for that month. “We only picked up that we did not charge clients in that month a few weeks later when we completed the reconciliation between systems,” says Moyce.
He adds that not billing a large number of customers who were affected would have resulted in a serious revenue knock for MTN. “We then decided to notify our customers of the problem and have the amounts deducted from customer accounts.”
Many subscribers were enraged that MTN simply debited accounts for the outstanding amounts, and others could not pay the sums that MTN had requested. Moyce says MTN is happy to work with each client to find a payment plan, if they are having trouble paying the owed amounts.
One customer managed to run up a bill of R60 000, and one ITWeb reader has a R91 000 bill. However, Moyce explains that the customer with a R60 000 bill has approached MTN and the company has proved the client did spend that amount.
Part of the customer's trouble was Microsoft automatic updates, which used enough bandwidth over five months to account for R21 000 of his bill. Moyce says he has discounted the customer some of that money and a payment plan has been implemented for the rest.
“I feel for those customers who have managed to spend that much money; and I will try and help where I can,” he says.
The customer implementing the class action against MTN, Kornizer, met with the company's top level executives on Friday to try and resolve his problem. MTN has provided him with everything he has asked for; however, it is still unclear whether he will pursue the possible court action.
The second billing issue will see many customers receive a refund from the operator. Moyce says several subscribers have been double billed and MTN is processing the refunds.
The double billing has been narrowed to one particular geographic area, which it declined to disclose. “It was caused by a fault in one of our switches, which in turn created the double bill,” explains Moyce.
The third billing problem stemmed from people not being properly discounted on certain promotions. The company is investigating which customers were affected by this and is working to apply a credit process with the correct discounts applied.
Moyce says he understands that finances are an emotional issue. Not only are most South Africans taking strain with the economic downturn, December and January are sensitive months financially.
However, Moyce says that, for most of the queries the company is fielding from clients, it can prove where or how each customer spent the money they are trying not to pay. “We have found that many customers have gone out of bundle, which is a premium service.”
However, Moyce says MTN has learned a lot from its billing debacle, which he hopes will help the business implement better customer checks and controls. He says MTN will look into a process of letting data customers know they are out of bundle, and ensure clients are aware the cost out of bundle is far higher than when in bundle.
He adds that the company will make more of an effort to educate customers on how data is billed, and perhaps help them to manage their data usage better. “Implementing this billing system has been a complicated situation. We have not had a similar situation in 10 years.”
Moyce has also asked customers to remember that, while they may be angry or frustrated, the call centre staff members manning the frontlines are also people, and none of them are responsible for the billing trouble.
