MTN has given the firm assurance of investing more in Ghana despite the current economic environment. Speaking at a media engagement in Accra, visiting Group Chief Executive of MTN, Ralph Mupita noted that they have taken this decision because of the role of Ghana in the group and returns on its investments.
He added that “we want to have a sustained investment program so that in a market like Ghana, every Ghanaian has the capacity to enjoy the benefits of modern connected life and we are not changing view.”
“So if we are true to that vision, then we must sustain the CAPEX and therefore we are not going to review that commitment when it comes to investment in Ghana,” he explained.
There are fears that due to the current challenges facing the economy which have resulted in inflation hitting a record 23.6 percent in April and increasing taxes on the company’s operations, MTN might have reviewed its Capital Expenditure.
But the Group Chief Executive of MTN, noted that it is committed to aligning itself to programme like the Ghana Cares initiative by the government of Ghana.
MTN and the E-Levy
On the tax on Electronic Transfers popularly known as E-Levy, the Group Chief Executive noted that, for now, MTN sees it as burden-sharing with Government in terms of addressing the current challenges facing the economy.
Some were also looking forward to seeing whether the introduction of the tax has affected MTN.
Mr Mupita, however, noted that it will only be able to give accurate data on these matters in six months’ time.
Localization of MTN
The Group Chief Executive of MTN noted that they are committed to increasing the stake that Ghanaians can hold when it comes to the issued shares of MTN Ghana.
MTN, in 2018, started with about 12.5 percent of the issued shares to the public
“It currently stands at around 23.7 percent and we are looking at about 30 percent and we have made a lot of progress on that, 30 is the target and that is the commitment as Group.”
The Group CEO added that as a company “we want more and more Ghanaians to enjoy and participate in the economic success of Ghanaians and the business.”
Source: JoyBusiness
