The Minister of Trade and Industry, Ebrahim Patel, has announced that South Africa’s telecommunications workers will be exempt from the Covid-19 national lockdown as digital infrastructure is deemed a critical service.
To that end, both fixed-line and mobile telephony systems must be maintained during South Africa’s 21-day lockdown.
“While we are all feeling anxious about the health and wellness of loved ones, family, colleagues and members of our community, we cannot ignore that the Government has called upon us to act in support of ensuring our community remains connected during this time of lockdown,” says Jorge Mendes, chief officer of Vodacom’s consumer business unit.
“In line with governments’ regulations, certain Vodacom stores will trade with limited working hours and strict procedures to ensure our customers stay connected. The limited trading stores will only supply goods and execute services that are deemed essential, such as data, airtime, repairs and sim-swaps,” he adds.
There are 139 Vodacom stores around the country that will remain open during the lockdown period with operating hours aligned to respective malls and their limited hours of trading. Vodacom’s flagship store, Vodacom World will remain open, however trading hours are also limited. Vodacom will ensure that these stores maintain the highest hygiene standards with numerous preventative measures in place to ensure the health and safety of customers and employees.
Customers are encouraged to use Vodacom’s self-help platforms for services such as buying data, voice and SMS’s by making use of the *135# USSD string, My Vodacom App, VodaPay Masterpass app. Customers who prefer to call the call centre may still do so, however the number of agents on duty will be limited, in line with government’s regulations, so customers are encouraged to be patient. Some of our call centre agents are set up to work from home to ensure our customers stay connected.