TANESCO call centre set for overhaul

DAR ES SALAAM: DEPUTY Prime Minister and Minister for Energy Dr Doto Biteko has ordered the overhaul of the Customer Service Centre of the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) following its failure to serve the public at the expected standards.

Dr Biteko issued a seven-day ultimatum to the power utility’s management to implement the necessary changes.

The Deputy Prime Minister issued the directive yesterday after visiting the centre at Ubungo in Dar es Salaam to follow up on the implementation of instructions he had issued in April last year.

Dr Biteko expressed surprise that TANESCO had ignored his earlier directives, which called for the company to discontinue the use of paid phone numbers for service provision.

He had instead requested that TANESCO seek a toll-free number from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) to provide relief to customers needing TANESCO services.

“Have you ever made a call and been charged without receiving the service? People are disappointed. I direct the overhaul of the centre to improve efficiency in serving the public. The majority of Tanzanians rely on this centre, but the services provided are not satisfactory,” Dr Biteko said.

“I came here in April last year, and the services were good, with customers getting their issues resolved immediately. I instructed that this number (0748550000) be made toll-free. So why hasn’t it been changed until today?” queried Biteko.

He added, “You subject customers to unnecessary inconveniences because, when calling customer service, they must have a token on their phone.

How do we help them? What are your statistics? Don’t you see that the number of people trying to reach you through calls has decreased?” he questioned.

The Deputy Premier added that it is disappointing to see a few individuals who lack dedication and patriotism toward their fellow Tanzanians cause the good work being done by the company to be undermined.

“The government produces enough electricity and we even have a surplus. Why did we fail to fix this for the whole year? I am giving a seven-day ultimatum for this to be changed,” Biteko said.

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He added that the government under President Samia Suluhu Hassan has allocated significant amount of funds to support the centre, but its performance is poor compared to the services it offers.

TANESCO was directed to discontinue the use of paid numbers for service provision and instead request a toll-free service number from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) to ease the burden on citizens when inquiring about TANESCO services.

Briefing about the centre’s performance, TANESCO Acting Managing Director Mr Abubakar Issa, acknowledged budgetary challenges.

He also said that in collaboration with the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), they will quickly meet to begin using a tollfree number to provide relief to the public and improve efficiency for users.