The newly appointed chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the MTN, Africa’s largest wireless operator Africa’s largest wireless operator, Phuthuma Nhleko has promised to resolve the company’s $5.2bn fine by the NCC within two weeks and reverse share price losses that followed reports of the penalty late last month.
He vowed to personally lead negotiations with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which imposed the record fine for failing to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered customers before a deadline.
“We are doing our best to try to arrive at an acceptable outcome,” Nhleko said in an interview on South Africa’s Radio 702.
The company’s shares have declined about 16 percent since the fine was reported on October 26.
Analysts say that more senior executives at the mobile network MTN may have to face the music after the resignation of its group chief executive officer, Sifiso Dabengwa on Monday.
“It was inevitable that heads would roll,” World Wide Worx managing director, Arthur Goldstuck said in his reaction to Dabengwa’s resignation.
This could be a sign that the CEO was ineffective at moving ahead with negotiations with the Nigerian regulator or that he was pushed by the board, said Goldstuck.
“One of the big criticisms is that MTN hasn’t kept investors informed. It’s strategic decision-making is slow,” Goldstuck said
Dobek Pater – a director and analyst at telecoms, IT and media research firm Africa Analysis – said he had expected senior executives at MTN’s Nigerian operations to step down first, rather than South African-based Dabengwa.
“I didn’t expect the CEO at group level to step down.”
Meanwhile, Per Second News gathered that the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is also investigating MTN for the way it made its announcement on Monday October 26 regarding the $5.2bn fine. Media reports about the fine surfaced hours before MTN made the SENS announcement on that day. The JSE said it is also looking into possible insider trading at MTN by studying the trades that happened before the announcement. [myad]
