KamothoCan one argue that Bonga Points is a currently created by Safaricom and hence they have a right to sort of regulate its usage?Ali Hussein+254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113"Kujikwaa si kuanguka, bali ni kwenda mbele" (To stumble is not to fall but a sign of going forward) - Swahili ProverbSent from my iPadKamothoThis action of disabling the phone code that was being used to trade in Bonga Points by Onfone media by Safcom borders on intrusion into private transactions between consenting parties. Unless Safcom can show evidence that the inter-party dealings with Bonga points have exposed the firm to any fraud or justifiable risk, they owe an apology to the ICT fraternity and the entire world for attempting to stifle innovation.Instead of celebrating and embracing the landmark application by Onfon Media and its associated flexibilities, Safcom shut it down. By so doing Safcom lost an opportunity to further the scope of options within their loyalty program. Most significantly, the firm flouted the trade law and its conventional tenets. According to Section 21 of the Competition Act (2010) "Agreements between undertakings, decisions by undertakings or concerted practices by undertakings which have as their object or effect the prevention, distortion or lessening of competition in trade in any goods or services in Kenya, or a part of Kenya, are prohibited".Thanks Hussein for bringing up this matter.It seems Safcom is so engrossed in protectionism to an extent that the firm has little respect for individual liberties, flexibility of choices or the law of the land. Needless to say, once a firm has made an undertaking to customers to award Bonga points when they spend their airtime on its network, the firm becomes duty bound to fulfill that obligation in its entire measure. As soon as the Bonga points have accrued to a subscriber, they immediately cease to be mere sales talk or a discretionary bonus which the firm can choose to honor or not. They immediately mutate into a perfect entitlement that is legally recognizable. No reasonable firm would therefore limit how a loyal subscriber chooses to activate such an entitlement. The only acceptable limitations are those that may naturally arise due to lack of technological capacity that would widen the range of options through which customers could gain full benefit of their hard earned bonga points.
Section 24 of the Act reads as follows:
24. Abuse of dominant position
(1) Any conduct which amounts to the abuse of a dominant position in a market in Kenya, or a substantial part of Kenya, is prohibited.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), abuse of a dominant position includes―
(a) directly or indirectly imposing unfair purchase or selling prices or other unfair trading conditions;
(b) limiting or restricting production, market outlets or market access, investment, distribution, technical development or technological progress through predatory or other practices;
(c) applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties;
(d) making the conclusion of contracts subject to acceptance by other parties of supplementary conditions which by their nature or according to commercial usage have no connection with the subject matter of the contracts; and
(e) abuse of an intellectual property right.
(3) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section commits an offense and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to a fine not exceeding ten million shillings or to both.
On Thu, Nov 7, 2013 at 9:58 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Safaricom has disabled a phone code that was being used to trade in Bonga Points by a Nairobi-based IT firm.
Onfon Media developed the code, *981*400#, that it was using to buy the loyalty points from Safaricom subscribers at Sh0.20 each and selling them for Sh0.35, hence earning a return of 75 per cent.Read onThere should be a healthy debate on whether doing this is the right thing to do by Safaricom and whether it is anti-innovation...I for one wouldn't mind some cash event for my thousands of bonga points...:)Ali Hussein+254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113"Kujikwaa si kuanguka, bali ni kwenda mbele" (To stumble is not to fall but a sign of going forward) - Swahili ProverbSent from my iPad
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