The major mobile service providers in Uganda have decided to re-introduce charges against customers who are sending money to others. Both MTN and Airtel hit their customers unexpectedly with the reinstatement of sending charges this morning.
The charges had been removed to prevent the spreading of the coronavirus and can be transmitted through the handling of cash currency notes and coins, when the covid-19 pandemic broke out.
However, a joint statement by the two multinational companies broke the news that the charges for sending money have been brought back. The statement does not state whether the risk of spreading coronavirus by handling cash is over. Neither does it bear the national Covid-19 taskforce endorsement nor that of the Uganda Communications Commission.
Currency notes in developing countries where they are still used for most transactions are notorious for spreading infectious diseases. A study by Makerere University Medical School last year found that a lot of the Urinary Tract Infections in Kampala are caused by handling cash currency. Unfortunately, many people still think that all UTIs are sexually transmitted.
