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Joe Mcgluwa, the ID spokesperson on the Presidential Hotline, has called on cell phone companies ‘to provide toll free mobile phone calls to citizens making calls to the Presidential Hotline.

‘We call on them to come to the party with regards to negotiations with the Presidency over making calls from cell phones to the Hotline free,' Mr Mcgluwa says. 

The ID MP has since the Hotline's inception 7 months ago repeatedly said that calls from cell phones should be afforded the same toll free status as calls from landlines. On a recent visit to the Hotline, Mr Mcgluwa says he was ‘shocked to hear that a whopping 80% of calls to the Hotline were from cell phones. 

‘The ID sees this as a good opportunity for the cell phone companies to pump back some of the billions they have made from ripping off ordinary South Africans by charging them exorbitant interconnection rates over the past few years,' Mcgluwa says. 

‘If they refuse to come to the party then the ID will once again look at forcing their hand through the appropriate Parliamentary channels. This would not be the first time the ID has done so.' 

A tough 8-month long campaign by ID President Patricia de Lille, in which she took on cell phone companies over the rates, has led to their reduction from R1.25 to 89c at the end of this month (March).

‘The fact that in some cases retail prices have come down by 40% because of Ms De Lille's campaign shows that the ID does not believe that the private sector functions by a different set of ethics and rules to the rest of us,' says Mcgluwa.

‘There is no reason why cell phone companies should be left out of our national project to improve service delivery. It is my sincere hope that they will grab this opportunity to help the poor with both hands.'