MTN Ghana - Afrikan Heroes

Ghana withdraws huge tax claim against MTN

February 6, 2023

The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

MTN Group said the over $700 million tax bill it received from the Ghanaian government has been scrapped.

Ghana’s decision came after “extensive and productive discussions” during a 21-day negotiation period between the West African nation’s authorities and the mobile phone operator, MTN said in a filing at the weekend.

The decision to withdraw the tax bill came after the Ghana Revenue Authority last month sent the country’s largest corporate taxpayer a surprise claim for the period between 2014 and 2018.

The potential fine represented about 5% of MTN’s market capitalisation and the government’s decision “removes a threat to this year’s shareholder returns”, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst John Davies said in a note.

Ghana’s cash-strapped government has been demanding some of the nation’s largest companies to pay millions of dollars of back taxes. Gold Fields, Kosmos Energy and Tullow Oil have received similar bills. All of the companies dispute the government’s claims.

Ghana lost access to international capital markets because of its ballooning debt and loan-service costs. The government has been forced to allocate most of its revenue to service an estimated R810-billion of public debt.

It is restructuring most of its obligations amid a slump in the cedi and is seeking a US$3-billion loan from the IMF.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

MTN Announces 5G Roll Out Date in Ghana

September 28, 2021

The Ghanaian subsidiary MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecom company has announced its intentions to launch and make operational 5G services in the West African country by 2023. This comes as MTN has yet to fully cover Ghana with its 4G spectrum, but projects to gain 98% 4G coverage by the end of 2022. Currently, MTN’s 4G coverage has reached 73% of the country.

Media reports say that the company revealed that it is modernizing its infrastructure and working with regulators towards 5G and that it will seek to have 5G mobile connectivity operating in Ghana by 2023.

According to the CEO of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh, who made the announcement, MTN is taking steps towards 5G in order to be in a better position to take advantage of the digital space.

“Almost every 10 years, there is a new technology. 4G was launched in 2016 so ideally, 5G should be expected somewhere around 2026 but will have to be rollout around 2023 as COVID has accelerated digitalization,” Adadevoh said.

Adadevoh continued to say that MTN Ghana has over its 25 years of existence invested over $6-billion in infrastructure with 2021 seeing the highest investment in a single year with a sum of over $200-million.

The CEO continued that through its investments and accessibility services, such as MTN’s AYOBA platform, an all-in-one instant messages app – which provides avenues for private citizens and businesses to enter the digital space. Customers and businesses alike can access online shops and market spaces on MTN’s digital platforms and data services with just a click, Adadevoh concludes.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

MTN Ghana Promotes ICT Program for Girls.

September 6, 2021

Samuel Koranteng, Chief Corporate Services Officer of MTN Ghana

Africa’s largest telco MTN Group through its Ghanaian subsidiary MTN Ghana has donated $1.6-million (GHS10-million) to support the Girls in Information Communication Technology (ICT) Project. A Ghanaian initiative hoping and aimed at exposing the ICT sphere to young women.

According to Business Ghana, the donation is set to run for three years and is part of MTN Ghana’s 25-anniversary celebration. Speaking at a brief ceremony to present the donation in Accra, Samuel Koranteng, Chief Corporate Services Officer of MTN Ghana, said that the company was pleased to support the government’s efforts to address the female participation gap within the country’s ICT sector.

“Our core belief as a business is that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern, connected life. We, therefore, strive to ensure that men and women benefit equally from ICT,” Koranteng said, while also noting that MTN is a signatory to the United Nations Women Empowerment Principles, which has encouraged the firm to advance the cause and proliferation of gender equality in their business.

“Gender Empowerment is a key strategic component of MTN’s Corporate Social Investment and over the years we have made significant contributions in this regard. We however do not wait until precocious young girls become seasoned women professionals before taking an interest in them. Our contributions start from the grassroots level,” he added.

Ghana’s Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, said that the country’s tech sector over the years had been dominated by men, hence the need to train and encourage more women to shift into the sector. She said introducing girls to ICT early would help the building of necessary skills to compete in the tech industry later on.

“I am excited how young girls have joined the programme and are learning the mainstream ICT education like decoding and building of websites,” Owusu-Ekuful said.

According to the Minister, 1,000 young women are currently being trained in an ongoing event in the Western North region of Ghana. She added that she is hopeful to see more women receive training all across the country to bolster their career opportunities.

Owusu-Ekuful thanked MTN Ghana for their kind gesture and called on other organisations to support the programme in enabling more African women to acquire much-needed ICT knowledge and skills.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

MTN Threatens to Sue Ghanaian Actress Salma Mumin over MoMo fraud Allegation

October 27, 2020

The Ghanaian subsidiary of Africa’s largest telecoms company, Mobile Telecommunications Networks (MTN) has threatened to take legal action against actress, Salma Mumin after she accused officials of the company of involvement in mobile money fraud. MTN gave the actress a 24-hour ultimatum to retract the claims or face potential legal action. The company said claims by the actress on social media about a MoMo transaction and the company are untrue.

Ms Mumin had, on October 22, complained via her Instagram account that an amount of ¢10,000 had been illegally “taken” from her mobile money wallet without her knowledge. She had further threatened to “disturb the peace” of MTN until her money was refunded, claiming that “MTN is not safe anymore”.

“MTN keeps saying nobody can withdraw your Mono account without your concern but I just found out over 10,000 cedis from my mono account has been taken… MTN is not safe anymore,” she wrote on Instagram.

But in a rejoinder issued on Friday evening, MTN Ghana rejected Miss Mumins account as untrue. “As @Salmamumin is very much aware, the said amount was not in her MoMo Merchant Wallet and no money had been taken from her MoMo Merchant Wallet as claimed,” the company said in a response on Twitter.

The Corporate Communications Unit of MTN has given the actress 24 hours to render an apology for her actions in the post, which have since been deleted from her Instagram page.

“The apology must state clearly that her claim that MTN Ghana had taken money from her wallet was false and given some prominence as that of her initial post failing which the business will be compelled to take legal action against her,” MTN demanded.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

MTN to deploy AI in 2021 to check Mobile Money fraud

September 25, 2020

Mobile telecommunications operator, MTN Ghana has indicated that it plans to roll out its Artificial Intelligence (AI) system to check Mobile Money (MoMo) fraud from the first quarter of 2020. This is part of additional measures being implemented by the telecoms operator to deal with this practice, which some say could threaten the subscriber confidence in the industry. CEO of MTN Selorm Adadevoh who disclosed this on PM Express Business Edition last Thursday said this is to complement existing structures and programs the company has already instituted to deal with this practice. Mr Adadevoh also added that they also see customer education as one of the tools that can be used to deal with this challenge.

“This is because a well-educated customer will ward off potential threats from these fraudsters,” he said. A recent Bank of Ghana report described the rising mobile money fraud as a “real” threat to the stability of the entire banking and financial sectors. Mr Adadevoh expressed hope that these measures that have already been implemented will help control the situation very soon.

He also said MTN has been working with the security agencies, a move which has seen the arrest of some fraudsters, with others awaiting prosecution. The MTN CEO noted that the role of Mobile Money services during the lockdown highlighted its importance. “This is something that can be described as a lifesaver. Depending on how you want to look at it, at the initial stage, the numbers were low, but picked up strongly later.”

Mr. Adadevoh also announced that they are working through the Telecom’s Chamber to establish a system that can help blacklist numbers used by these mobile money fraudsters in the country. He explained that “as an industry, we need to start coordinating on how we can create a centralised fraud management database so that when a subscriber reports a fraudster; their ID details are captured and blocked.”

The MTN CEO added that one network cannot just deal with it alone and that it needed concerted efforts by all telcos in the country. He also noted that, if a commercial bank for instance gets to know, through the MTN system that someone was blacklisted, that will make it difficult for them to operate in the financial space. Mobile Money still remains untapped despite huge flows. The MTN CEO noted that despite huge flows that had been recorded on the Mobile Money platforms of the various telcos, a lot more needs to be done arguing that the platform is still underutilised.

“If we get excited by volumes of cash being moved, then we will be blinded by the real opportunities that this platform holds,” he said. He added that there are a lot of things that can be done or developed to aid the country.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

MTN Ghana to Become a Fully Digital Operator by 2023

September 23, 2020

MTN Ghana has revealed that it is investing in becoming a fully digital operator by 2023. This was made known by Selorm Adadevoh, MTN Ghana CEO, who noted that the company was leveraging the strength of its “fintech” and some six pillars to “deliver a bold new digital world to customers”. The telco said that the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the importance of digital operations and “MTN is transforming by expanding the mobile money (MoMo) ecosystem”.

MTN has introduced a month-to-month payment option that aims to give customers “control of their spend commitments”. With no lock-ins, no credit checks and no complicated paperwork, MTN Month-to-Month is available to anyone that either doesn’t want to be tied to a contract or who is unable to get a long-term contract due to not meeting minimum requirements.

New or existing customers simply need to choose the package they want and opt for the month-to-month payment option, allowing them to experience the MTN network without a 24-month obligation. All they will be asked for is their name, SA ID and debit order details should they opt to pay via debit order.

“These are uncertain times for many, so with this product, we are responding to our customer’s needs with greater flexibility, as not everyone can afford the commitment of a fixed contract. We developed this offer with freelancers, entrepreneurs, independent contractors and part-time temporary workers, who live from contract to contract, in mind and we hope it can help alleviate some of the pressure being felt by so many right now, ” says Jacqui O’Sullivan, Executive Head of Corporate Affairs, MTN South Africa.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

MTN to Face Stiff Competition in Ghana

June 9, 2020

The market dominance presently enjoyed by Africa’s biggest telecoms company MTN in Ghana may head for a stiffer run, which may break their control of the market. This is likely to arise as a result of the new sets of telecoms policies the Ghanaian government plans to implement which analysts say will reduce the dominance of MTN in the country’s telecommunications market.

A statement from the country’s National Communications Authority (NCA) says that there will be an implementation of specific policies to ensure a level-playing field for all network operators within the telecommunications industry. This is because MTN has been declared a significant market power, requiring the regulator to take corrective action to allow more market competition.

Statistics from the NCA showed MTN’s share in mobile data subscriptions accounted for almost 70% of the market from January to March. To correct this, the regulator will implement a series of measures including a favourable connection rate for disadvantaged operators, the setting of floor and ceiling pricing on all minutes, data, text messages and mobile money, and ensure the various operator vendors are not subject to exclusionary pricing or behaviour.

MTN Ghana however said that it is yet to receive any formal notification from the regulator in that regard and was awaiting it to assess the details

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

MTN Battles Ghana’s Presidential Orders on Handover Of Subscribers Details

May 24, 2020

One of Ghana’s leading mobile telecommunications networks, MTN has gone to court to challenge the presidential directive from the President of Ghana which orders telecoms companies to hand over customer’s personal details to the government. This directive according to the government is to enable for proper monitoring of the country’s Covid-19 containment programmes. Mounting a very fierce defence for the rights of the over 15 million persons who subscribe to its communication network and other services, MTN went to court to file a case at the Human Rights High Court in Accra on May 20, 2020 stating inter-alia that, “[we are] aggrieved by the attempt of [Kelni GVG] to use the opportunity of the pandemic and the EI to obtain data which is not required by the EI and has no relevance to the stated purpose of the law i.e. COVID 19 contact tracing,” MTN’s affidavit stated.

On April 6, 2020, Mr. Francis Kwarteng Arthur, a private legal practitioner, went to the High Court to challenge the President’s order contained in Executive Instrument (EI) Number 63 and the manner in which the order was being implemented. The EI 63 orders all telecommunication network and service providers to hand over the personal information of all customers and subscribers to the President.

According to the EI, “there is an urgent need to establish an emergency communication system to trace all contacts of persons suspected of or actually affected by public health emergency and identify the places visited by persons suspected of or actually affected by a public emergency.” The personal information to be collected includes the raw subscriber mobile money transfer data and mobile money merchant codes and addresses. Subscriber cell reference data and other call particulars will also be collected.

However, in a written submission filed at the Court presided over by Justice Stephen Oppong, the petitioner’s lawyers argued that “a measure which seeks to suspend the privacy rights of over 10 million persons…all in the hope that some few hundred may be traced, does not only amount to using a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito, but also unashamedly disproportionate and, thus, unreasonable.”

Asiedu Nketia describes Akufo-Addo’s government as worse than military regime The defendants to the case are Vodafone Ghana, MTN Ghana, Kelni GVG, the National Communication Authority, and the Attorney-General. While Vodafone is yet to file a response, the Attorney-General insists that Mr. Francis Arthur’s petition is “misconceived and without merit and ought to be dismissed.” The presiding judge, His Lordship Justice Stephen Oppong, one of the newly appointed Justices of the High Court, meanwhile has adjourned the case to June 23, 2020, when he will give his ruling on a motion for an interlocutory injunction to restrain the government from collecting the information pending the determination of the case .

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry