BY TONY IROGA
PRIME Minister Matthew Wale has told the country’s main telecommunications provider, Our Telekom, to lower its service charges.
Wale yesterday met with the board and management of Our Telekom to explore ways to work collaboratively to improve telecommunications services across the country.
At the meeting, the Prime Minister delivered a clear message and that is telecommunication costs must come down as the cost of living continues to rise, a statement by the PM Press Secretariat yesterday said.
“This has been my consistent message to all service providers since assuming office,” Prime Minister Wale said.
“We must think of the unfortunate population of this country who are trying to afford three meals a day. How do we serve them?”
While acknowledging the broader economic pressures affecting pricing across multiple sectors, the Prime Minister said some costs remain unreasonably high for ordinary citizens, the PM Press Secretariat statement said.
“We all have a stake in lowering the cost of living in this country. Government must also play its part through reforms aimed at reducing costs in other key service areas,” he said.
Prime Minister Wale emphasised the need for a collaborative and practical approach, noting that all stakeholders must work together to determine what is both achievable and reasonable, the statement said.
“Every bit of our economy needs to come down,” he stressed.
He added that discussions to address high costs across the economy are already underway with relevant stakeholders.
In response, Chairman of Our Telekom Board, Baoro Laxton Koraua, acknowledged the concerns raised by the Prime Minister.
“We will take home your concerns with gratitude,” Mr Koraua said.
Koraua also highlighted Our Telekom’s substantial contributions to the national economy and the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund (SINPF) over the last decade.
He also identified external cost drivers specifically high electricity tariffs and bandwidth costs as major factors influencing the company’s current pricing structure.
Despite these operational challenges, Koraua assured the Prime Minister that Our Telekom is actively exploring strategic measures to address the government’s concerns and lower financial burdens on consumers.
Photo credit: Press Secretariat, OPMC
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