MTN furnishes home of African Union head
MTN has said it furnished the Ethiopian home of the new African Union head, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the Sunday Times reported.
Dlamini-Zuma was South Africa’s minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2009. In July 2012 she was elected as chairperson of the African Union.
MTN CEO of corporate affairs Paul Norman told the Sunday Times that the company decided to buy the furniture for the AU house in Addis Ababa because the place had not been refurbished in more than a decade.
“MTN also heeded the call of the South African government for South Africans to support the new AU Commission chair . . . with furnishings,” said Norman. “Her historic election is a major success for South African foreign policy. She is the first woman in the 50 years of this continental organisation to occupy this position.”
Ethiopia is the third-largest country in Africa with an estimated population of 82 million. It has only 16.8 million cellphone subscribers and a mobile penetration rate of 18.9% reports the Sunday Time. Internet services such as Skype and Google Talk are illegal in Ethiopia.
According to the Sunday Times, MTN has been linked to politicians in Africa, including former Liberian president Charles Taylor and his friend Emmanuel Shaw – who are both being prosecuted for war crimes. In Ivory Coast, MTN reportedly provided assistance to Laurent Gbagbo, who was ousted from the presidency in the country’s civil war.
MTN is the largest cellular operator in Africa, but has been struggling to secure deals in new markets. One of its recent attempts was mired in political controversy, including claims of bribery, as MTN made a bid for a lucrative cellular license in Iran.
More failed attempts included discussions with Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications to crack into the Indian market; followed by losing a bid on a mobile license in Myanmar, a large emerging mobile market.
MTN Group CEO, Sifiso Dabengwa, said the company would be “comfortable with a debt of anywhere between $4-billion and $8-billion” to pursue opportunities.
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