by Eze Eluchie
I congratulate
the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) for its landmark decision to slam the recalcitrant mobile telecommunication service provider,
MTN, with an appropriate fine for its blatant transgression and disrespect for
our domestic laws and regulations. This is the way to go!
Considering it is not possible to incarcerate a corporate body, imposing fines for violations or infractions of laws and regulations remains the most viable means to ensure compliance with regulations.
A key factor
which underscores the sovereignty of any State is its ability to make and
enforce domestic legislation's geared towards the betterment of its population.
When foreign organizations operating within the territory of a state are
allowed to flout domestic laws at will and believe that they can get away with
such violations by bribing some regulatory agency officials or other unethical
practices, the integrity of a state and its institutions and its very sovereignty are brought into question.
The practice
of penalizing corporate bodies which violate national laws or act inappropriately
is universal. The United States, European Union and other States routinely
adopt this practice to achieve corporate compliance with State objectives. Far
heftier fines have been imposed in other climes, such as the U.S.$258 million
fine imposed on Deutsche Bank AG by New York and US Banking regulators for
infringing on Banking Laws (US$200 million of the sum was actually imposed by
New York State); The U.S.$9 Billion fine paid to US authorities by French Bank,
BNP Paribas SA for infringing US banking regulations; a total of over U.S.$259
Billion has been paid by Banks for infractions of national laws to governments
in the United States and Western European since 2009.
Clearly, levying fines on corporate organizations for infractions of national laws is one
veritable source of income and punishment for bad behavior which governments
in sub-Sahara Africa seem to have neglected. Considering the level of impunity
with which multinational conglomerates operating across sub-Sahara Africa go
about their businesses, the harm occasioned to the governments and peoples of
the various States will certainly be ameliorated to a great extent if
appropriate and commensurate fines are levied on and collected from these
wayward corporate bodies.
The fine
imposed by the Nigerian Government against telecommunication giant, MTN, is
very much in order. Other serial violators of our domestic laws which the
Government should actively commence penalty procedures against include the
Construction companies (who continue to transport their staff and materials in
very compromising manners despite several warnings), the Banks (which continue
to brazenly launder funds and inordinately impose spurious charges on their customers)
and of course the crude oil producing companies (whose practices continue to
decimate our populations and environment in our oil producing areas.
For once, I am glad to support an initiative of the Muhammadu Buhari presidency.
Comparative fines levied in the United States and EU countries.
Picture: Logo of MTN Group
