Macra rolls out toll-free customer call centre

Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) has established a toll-free customer call centre to attend to inquires and deal with complaints.

Macra communications manager Zadziko Mankhambo said in an interview on Friday that other channels fell short of providing immediate feedback, which prompted the regulator to establish the call centre.

“This will enable information and communications technology [ICT] consumers to have immediate access to information and feedback regarding any challenges experienced with ICT operators or acquisition of any information about Macra,” he said.

Mankhambo said the call centre will automatically compute complaints and also provide automatic reports at designated periods.

He said all complaints should first be presented to the operator, who will be given a maximum of 14 days to resolve the problem before referring it to Macra.

The call centre will be available from Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm and complaints can be lodged from any network, according to Mankhambo.

Macra derives its mandate on consumer protection from part XVII of the Communications Act and the Electronic Transactions and Cybersecurity Act.

Section 151 of the Communications Act states “that the authority shall protect the interests of consumers, purchasers and other users of communication services”.

The call centre, with a toll-free number 261, became effective on June 17 2022 and is expected to complement other channels including the website and social media platforms which Macra has been using to get feedback from consumers.