By Sadique Bamwita
ENTEBBE
The Distributor of Airtel services (PMTS), Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Paul Tiine , on March 10,2024, decried the frequent attacks on most of their Airtel agents.
He said the continued attacks have affected service delivery to their customers because some agents pull out of the business for fear of losing their dear lives. He disclosed this in Entebbe while speaking to Airtel agents in the districts of Wakiso, Kampala and Kayunga.
In a media briefing held in Entebbe, Paul Tine, the CEO of PMTS, explained that the rampant attacks on Airtel agents has negatively affected service delivery since some agents have been forced to withdraw from the business for fear of losing their lives.
“We decided to meet our stakeholders, staff and agencies to discuss the challenges and plan or develop strategies for the coming year. We want to ensure that we addres security concerns so we maintain our presence in all territories, “Paul noted.
“We still feel there are a lot of opportunities in the market. Uganda is a growing economy and it has got one of the fastest growing population. Therefore, we need to strategize on how we can harness the opportunities provided to us by the country in which we live.
“In terms of our performance the clientele has increased by 15% , number of shops by 20% and employees by 10%.
Mr. Tine added that besides insecurity, some areas are hard to access especially during rainy season and to make matters worse they take little cash making the Airtel team visit them many times which increases operational costs.
“Some areas where we have Airtel shops are hard to reach and this is compounded by insecurity in the area. They take a small float and we have to go there many times. The rotation of our team in these areas comes with increase in the cost of operation.
The Airtel Customer service representative at Entebbe Victoria mall, Easter Kyansimire, said they have been able to deregister some customers’ numbers because they lack finger print and pictures in Airtel data base system.
“We have been re-verifying our customers’ numbers for the last six months and we have been able to disconnect some customers with inconsistent data in our system. But if you have money on your line you fill some form and reclaim the money. This may take one to two weeks.
The Sales and Distribution Director at Airtel Uganda, Ali Balunywa, said due to growing concerns over insecurity and inacessibility to some areas, Airtel Uganda is working hand in hand with it’s distributors to ensure the customers get quality services.
