Pandemic profiteering

THE RECENT announcement by one of our major telecommunications providers to increase its internet rates, albeit small, was unsurprisingly met with strong condemnation and rejection from a wide cross-section of the public as being heartless, callous and uncaring given the prevailing socio-economic circumstances.

This proposed rate increase is being contemplated during a period of heightened demand across all sectors of the society, more so the education sector. This could not come at a worse time for teachers and parents in a sector that was forced to switch to a virtual modality over the past academic year.

At a time when parents are struggling to provide their children with devices with attendant internet capabilities, and teachers facilitating the virtual learning process essentially at their own cost, this decision has incurred the ire of the education community and would serve to widen the inequity gap which is already preventing thousands of children from accessing online education. Nowhere in the announcement is there any consideration being given by this corporate giant to provide any concessions to parents/teachers, considering its critical role in education.

This decision would impact significantly on one of the most vulnerable group in society – our children, especially those who come from economically impoverished backgrounds. Many parents have lost their jobs or have had their incomes significantly reduced and are forced to elicit the generosity of the State and other civic-minded citizens to survive. In order to provide their children with devices and internet connectivity, many parents have been forced to make major sacrifices and this anticipated internet rate increase would serve to exacerbate their social and economic dilemma.

The covid19 pandemic has been a hard blow for most sectors of the society except telecommunications corporations. They have seen their profit margins soar with the exponential increase in demand for digital services. Moreover, the projections are for this trend to continue in the short to medium term. Even before the pandemic, telecommunication service providers the world over were realising healthy profits from a sector that saw the emergence of some of the largest and most powerful companies in the world over the last decade.

Obscene greed has always been seen as a major driver of capitalism and is not always regulated by social conscience. It is therefore unsurprising that not withstanding our social and economic predicament, a large telecommunications provider will find justification in a rate increase at a time when subscribers are most vulnerable. Profit maximisation and profiteering are the underlying philosophical principles that have seen the emergence of mega corporations and the widening gap between the rich and poor. Economic might translates into mighty political power that can easily silence an increasingly subservient proletariat, leveraging on their vulnerabilities.

The proposed telecommunication rate increase at this time is nothing short of immoral and insensitive, deserving of castigation by the relevant authorities and commentators. It patently shows that this provider is oblivious to the fact that its service is essential to the sustainability of remote teaching and learning. Many teachers will now have to dig deeper into their reservoirs of generosity and commitment to continue to educate their charges, enhancing the profit margin of a corporate entity that simply cannot resist the opportunity to enhance its bottom line.

This development will undoubtedly initiate a trend which the other providers will gleefully follow. Remote geographical locations will continue to enjoy poor quality service despite pleas from customers over the years because the “return on investment” philosophy will not facilitate increased infrastructure in remote and sparsely populated segments of the country.

The prolonged nature of the pandemic will continue to place citizens, particularly those in the education sector, at the mercy of telecommunications providers, and it is hoped that the relevant authorities take cognisance of this fact and exercise due diligence to protect citizens from such naked attempts at corporate gluttony.

It is also hoped that citizens exercise their democratic and civic responsibility and strongly condemn such actions by corporate entities, especially at a time when all sectors are being asked to shoulder the responsibility of economic adjustment that will enable us as a society to emerge from this pandemic. Restrictions must be placed on the tentacles of corporate profiteering to stave off further pauperisation imposed by this pandemic.

Teachers and parents represent a vulnerable group that is always ripe for exploitation, and it is hoped that corporate consciences will pause to reflect on the social and economic impact of its decision. Corporate social responsibility is not just a cliché.