The caretaker cabinet meeting at the Grand Serail, on Aug. 3, 2023. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
Following a Thursday cabinet meeting about the 2023 budget, caretaker Telecommunications Minister Johnny Corm announced a sevenfold increase of Ogero's fixed calls and internet tariffs.
Corm told L'Orient Today that this increase is essential to enable Ogero to cover all of its operating costs, excluding salaries, i.e. "LL 10,000 to 11,000 billion a year at the current exchange rate", or $106 to $117 million 'fresh' dollars (the real dollars as opposed to those blocked by banking restrictions)."
This is the second rate increase in just over a year.
On July 1, 2022, the Telecoms Ministry raised all telecoms tariffs— fixed and mobile. Until then, they remained aligned on the former official parity of LL1,507.5 to the dollar, which was already outdated on the parallel market.
The parallel market rate, which has been in full decline since the start of the crisis, was hovering around LL30,000 when the updated rates came into effect at the beginning of summer 2022. It is now hovering around LL89,000.
The cabinet said it will hold another session to continue discussing the 2023 budget.