REPORTS in national dailies on Saturday said state-owned mobile company Teletalk Bangladesh Limited is bringing pressure on Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the government regulatory body in this sector to pay Tk 1600 crore fees for 3G license from its own account in the ground that the company has not enough fund to bear the cost. It appears quite strange as to why BTRC should undertake the financial burden of a government corporate body operating in the country’s lucrative mobile telephone sector. Why Teletalk is not having enough funds as it claims, is also a big question when at least six other mobile operators are earning handsome annual profits and growing overnight. The regulatory body has turned down Teletalk’s plea on several times but Teletalk management is unmoved. Some government ministries have meanwhile reportedly joined the lobbying to secure Finance Ministry’s help to resolve the problem.
Reports said Teletalk owes Tk 1485 crore to BTRC for license of 3G technology and the deadline for payment has expired on June 2014. The outstanding with a 15 percent VAT made the total overdue at Tk 1600 crore. Moreover, the state-owned mobile operator owes Tk 30 crore on revenue sharing and fees for renewal of license. The disclosure said Teletalk is not directly answering BTRC’s reminders while increasingly bringing pressure on the regulator to condone the fees or pay it from its own funds. As it appears; BTRC has already allowed Teletalk to use radio waves, besides import of machinery to keep it functional enjoying equal level playing field with other operators, despite the fact that the audit department has recommended filing money suits to recover the arrears. It is really surprising as to why the company is claiming resource shortfall when it is enjoying all government supports and financial benefits compared with other private sector operators.
There is no secret of the fact the Teletalk is now inundated by pervasive financial scandals and management inefficiency. Most people at senior management level have been reportedly appointed on political backing and they are blamed for working for powerful people in the political establishments in ruthlessly exploiting its resources. It may partly explain why the company is not having enough cash to pay for 3G fees. Lobbying of ministerial people to pay for license from BTRC fund also raises questions as to why they are so soft on the company’s failure instead of demanding accountability and transparency in its financial matters. The company has failed to come up with a functional business plan even after 10 years of coming into business, besides improving the service standard and financial capacity. It is highly frustrating.
We know that the telecommunication sector is target of powerful swindlers having closer contact with political establishments. We would like to demand proper investigations into the company’s failure to pay even its own business fees. It may be suggestive of a total breakdown of financial control. We would recommend such companies must be closed instead of using taxpayers money to help cover up possible frauds.
