If ever here was a dire need of a technocrat minister it was in the Telecommunications and ICT sector and for all the murmurs of discontent Mostofa Jabber's appointment is one of the best fits. As an entrepreneur and businessman in the specific sector he has seen it all, been there and done it. The enormity of what he now tackles on can best be described as a supreme juggling act whereby augmenting government revenue and balancing the demands of the cell phone operators and the information communication technology (ICT) sector are to be tackled simultaneously. As a technocrat, there was a signature of irony to his reported jocular tone when he remarked 'Tarana Halim's move from the role can't be talked about'
Depending on when the elections are held he has between nine months to a year to sort out some very thorny issues. There's some considerable difference of opinion between openers and BASIS regarding Value Added Services and there's a mounting bill of unpaid taxes, depending on which way it is looked at, owed by operators and the many IGWs that have scarpered without paying their dues to the government. VOIP is another major headache that has led to a continuous erosion of revenue from internal calls that Tarana for all her determination could not address. The powers that be are strong, significant and steps ranging from raids to re-registration haven't solved the problem. That's what the operators had politely pointed out but weren't listened to. The taxation has been severe on the sector as has been exorbitance in the spectrum fees. 4G is next on the list and no one has yet asked the golden question: 'have operators got anywhere near to recouping their costs of 3G investments. And there's little doubt that the taxman will be looking to him to help in filling a massive gap in revenue caused by the delay in the new VAT law, a drain on resources due to the Rohingya crisis and a less than expected growth in exports.
Mostofa Jabbar's major challenge is ensuring that he fulfils the agenda set out by the Prime Minister that the ICT sector will outstrip all other export revenues. In the meantime Jabber has to work out with the National Board of Revenue (NBR) how to collect outstanding revenue, fiddle the figures of debt incurred by the state-owned Teletalk and re-establish the Postal Sector's relevance. None of this is impossible but the decisions will be difficult and can cut both ways. From the Operators' side there will be eagerness to know of how he plans to deliver on the renegade promise of each-neutrality, especially now that the United States itself has baulked. And the growing pot of money gleaned from the Social Obligation Fund remains unutilised and an obligation that hasn't been met.
With one head to two apparently clashing sectors -- namely ICT and Telecom -- Mostofa Jabber is in a position that resonates with the super-hit song of the Bee Gees of the sixties. "I started a joke that set the whole world crying". The only thing he doesn't want to say is "But I didn't see".
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