NTRC’s ‘Meet, Greet & Speak’ Discourse
The National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) in Saint Lucia continues its public education drive with a focus on consumers and has embarked on a new initiative commencing this January.
The initiative dubbed “Meet, Greet & Speak” is a series of Town Hall meetings that will take place in various communities around the island, with a keen focus on giving all stakeholders a platform to share their insights.
One aim of the initiative is to educate individuals on the role of the Commission. The NTRC was created by the Telecommunications Act 2000. The Principal Object of the Act and the functions specified therein speaks directly to the mandate of the Commission and encapsulates the Commission’s role to regulate the telecommunications sector in Saint Lucia.
Another aim of the town hall meeting relates to the Commission’s realisation of the lack of education or the immediate access of information to the public as it relates to acceptable industry standards, laws governing the sector and even just basic consumer rights. With this limitation in mind, the Commission has set out to make this information readily available by way of its website and social media platforms. However, the need for face-to-face interaction was needed and this forum will be used to reach those persons who do not have access via the media listed above.
The first “Meet, Greet & Speak” town hall meeting, in keeping with its name, will be an open forum where consumers will have an opportunity to speak directly to their service providers. The optimal goal is to have educated consumers unafraid to speak up and take action where necessary and give providers a chance to hear their consumers and respond accordingly. Thus, considering the interests of both stakeholders as is required of a Regulator.
Consumers will also have an opportunity to engage the Commission and other agencies concerned with the welfare of consumers. Matters such as the roles of each entity, the processes to obtain redress and generally engage said entities, consumer complaints on provided services, use of services and correlated devices, and other like matters will be discussed at “Meet, Greet & Speak”. The goal is to not only focus on areas of improvement but to sensitise the collective group on matters affecting individuals and entities across the sector, and possibly highlighting plans for the upcoming year.
“Meet, Greet & Speak” is guaranteed to be informative and exciting, and so the Commission urges environs of Gros Islet, Babonneau and surrounding communities to save the date, show up, to Speak Up, Educate and Action. This is a unique opportunity for all stakeholders to chart the way forward.
The NTRC says, “We look forward to welcoming you on January 21st, 2020 at the Human Resource Development Centre, in Gros Islet from 7:00 pm -10:00 pm.”
[More information regarding this initiative will be posted via NTRC’s website www.ntrcslu.lc, persons may also follow NTRC on Facebook at NTRC Saint Lucia- Telecommunications Regulator or contact us at Telephone Number 458-0585 for more information].