Vodacom Tanzania Firms seek to pay fees in shillings

Telecommunications companies in Tanzania are in talks with the government to pay fees in shillings, a move Vodacom’s local unit said would counter currency volatility and ensure investment. “We currently pay licence fees in dollars and operate in shillings,” Vodacom Tanzania managing director Rene Meza said on Monday. “The shilling has been very volatile against the dollar and this could mean we have to cut back on investment to pay regulatory fees.” The currency fell in October to its lowest level against the dollar since the government liberalised the foreign exchange market in 1994. Telecoms firms pay annual fees for earth satellite stations, switching centres and networks at a rate of 0.8 percent of turnover in dollars. Vodacom Tanzania, the country’s biggest cellular provider by customers, is set to invest 100 billion Tanzanian shillings (R498 million) over the next 18 months to expand and improve its network coverage. “We are finalising our budget,” Meza said. The company is also developing software to enable cross-border money transfers. – Bloomberg Source