NEWS RELEASE: Tuesday 14th July, 2009

CTO workshop on Alternate Dispute Resolution seeks to empower consumers and foster stronger collaboration among ICT stakeholders

A three-day workshop on the effective use of alternate dispute resolution in the ICT sector started today in Mauritius. The workshop is organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and hosted by the ICT Authority of Mauritius, the country’s regulator. Conducted in partnership with the ADR Group, one of the oldest mediation service providers in UK, 30 participants, drawn from various sub-sectors of ICT- field, including fixed line operators, mobile operators, and long distance operators, are undergoing intense training using both course work and practical examples.

Opening the workshop, Hon. Mohammed Asraf Ally Dulull, Mauritian Minister of Information and Communication Technology, underscored the importance of competition for the progress of the ICT sector but noted that complexity brings challenges. Hon Dulull noted that “while regulation can form an important part of the protective armoury for consumers, regulatory intervention is not always the solution in all cases. This is precisely where I believe that together with policymakers, the regulator, the consumer associations and the industry, we need to work out plans for alternative modes of dispute resolution, be it between operators or between an operator and the consumers. This workshop fits within this overall government vision in empowering consumers.”

In comments from London, Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, the CEO of CTO noted that the CTO launched its alternate dispute resolution service in December 2005 with two objectives; one was to provide alternate dispute resolution services needed by member countries and the other was to build capacity in member countries to effectively use alternate dispute resolution in their ICT sectors. He further added that “Just as is the case in any relatively new concept, alternate dispute resolution services need time to take root. It requires not only building expertise within countries but also constant nurturing, hand holding and guidance. This in fact is part of the broader mandate of the CTO with regards to promoting access to affordable ICTs in our member countries. If there are too many disputes that cannot be settled quickly, amicably and economically within the Commonwealth, our member countries and their needy populations will suffer from delayed network roll-outs and service delivery. We stand ready to extend the support and assistance our member countries such as Mauritius will need in moving forward from this workshop to adopt mediation fully in the sphere of ICTs.”

The event also attracted delegates from other service sectors including the financial services and aviation sectors. In association with a number of partners, the CTO plans to conduct more workshops on this subject in the future to build capacity across the Commonwealth as a facilitative mechanism to help ICTs thrive and advance.