Business owner wary of industry watchdog's stalling tactics

MARIUS Marais, the business owner who took his complaint of Telkom's allegedly unfair ADSL pricing to the Competition Commission, has called the Commission's latest move to transfer his complaint to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), an attempt to stall proceedings and to discourage him.

Marais, whose company, M&M Consulting, was forced by Telkom to subscribe to their 512k service when the less expensive 192k service was the most appropriate for their business, says the Commission is playing for time.

“They are waiting for me to lose faith so that I would give up pursuing the complaint.”

He was reacting to a letter from the Commission which stated that he would be notified by 24 November 2005 whether they will pursue the complaint or not. They also wanted his permission to send a copy of the complaint to Icasa.

This response comes after Marais, who lodged his complaint on 29 April 2005, had to wait six months for a reply from the Commission, only to be told that his complaint cannot be considered unless he submits an official complaints form and documents supporting his claim. He complied and forwarded them the relevant documentation.

Marais says he did not received any word of the Commission's intentions on the date stipulated in the letter. He also cannot understand why Icasa, the regulator for the South African communications sector, should be sent a copy of his complaint when the Commission is capable of handling these matters themselves. He questions the Commission's resolve in standing up to Telkom.

Click to expand...