Coronavirus lockdown – All cellphone stores must close
South Africa’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has clarified that network operators must close their physical stores during the coronavirus lockdown.
This information comes from a letter which MTN circulated to its stores today to inform them of the instruction from the minister.
In a letter from Ndabeni-Abrahams to MTN CEO Godfrey Motsa, the minister said the Disaster Management National Command Centre deliberated on questions raised by MTN, and it came to the following decisions:
- Cellular shops in malls and shopping centres are to be closed to ensure more employees remain at home during the lockdown period to curb the spread of COVID-19.
- Call centres must continue to operate during the lockdown period.
MyBroadband contacted MTN for comment, and the mobile network operator confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
“We did reach out to the Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams for clarification as to the status of mobile operator stores under these COVID-19 regulations,” MTN SA executive for corporate affairs Jacqui O’Sullivan told MyBroadband.
“We appreciate the swift response and clarity from the minister and, with immediate effect, we have communicated to all our stores that they need to close.”
The feedback from the minister echoes guidance from the Western Cape government to businesses regarding the national lockdown regulations.
“Cellphone shops are not allowed to be open. They would only be allowed to sell airtime, and this can be bought at any grocery store, spaza shop, or online,” the guidance stated.
Call centres may remain open
New amendments to the Disaster Management Regulations that were released on 2 April made it clear that a mobile operator’s call centres may continue to function, as long as they deal with telecommunications services.
“As an essential service, it is MTN’s priority to keep South Africans connected through these difficult times,” O’Sullivan said.
“We certainly welcome these amendments as it will allow us to continue to support our customers, at least through call centre capacity.”
Currently, all of MTN’s internal call centre operators are working from home.
“We will now be guided by the amendments as to the terms and conditions within which our outsourced call centres may operate,” stated O’Sullivan.
“We will continue to do all we can to keep our customers connected to their friends, family, and work.”
Now read: How the South African government will track you if you have the coronavirus
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