Scratch Card Vendors Protest Electronic Recharge Cards Advent
Scratch cards vendors under the aegis of Scratch cards Vendors of Nigeria has opposed the introduction of virtual top up cards by telephone operators in the country.
The Association in a letter it said it wrote the President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and signed by its president, Festus Inyang, the group said it received the recent wave of banning foreign goods especially the decision to stop the importation of telephone scratch cards into the country with mixed feelings. It however conceded that having looked at the issue objectively it could see that the idea is primarily in the interest of building capacity for local industries which are yet to distinguish themselves at the local let alone international level.
It pointed out that GSM has made a major impact on the socioeconomic well being of all of us Nigerian, as this amenity has moved from being a status symbol to being more available to the average Nigerian. "This industry, which is arguably the best paid, among the white-collar job earners, is also the sole employer of all our members whose means of livelihood is being threatened, by the introduction of MTN's replacement product called the (virtual top up)," the group said.
"Our members who are made up of unemployed graduates, retired civil servants, retired force men & women, school leavers, Newspaper vendors, domestic house helps and interestingly repentant ex-convicts, wish to express our reservations through this medium as follows:
"Firstly, the high incidence of capital flight, with the IPOs being the highest users of foreign exchange from the CBN is detrimental to a developing economy that employ it resources to building capacities for sustainable development.
"Secondly, MTN is being socially irresponsible in this regard as this product will displace thousands of Nigerians from their jobs (i.e.) members of {SCVA), thus resulting in the Idleness of a cross section of the Nigerian work force.
The proposed airtime refill system (VTU) is time consuming and inconveniencing, as the process requires sending an sms to a vendor. It is also not secure in terms of payment in a society with poorly structured and developing trade channels.
"Finally, with MTN being the most profitable amongst the GSM companies, even with its substandard service and constant network failure, the prevailing card shortage issues across the country would be adequately addressed through local production.
They argued that it would that it would be in the interest of national development and job creation by the telecom if the products are manufactured locally instead of electronic top up as being proposed by MTN which would soon be copied by other operators.
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