Participants at the forum. INSET: Eli Hini
GOVERNMENT received a total of GH¢3.1 billion revenue from the mobile telephony giant, MTN Ghana in 2021.
The amount, which is key in contributing towards the national economy and development, constitutes GH¢2.54 billion in overall taxes, which is 4.4 percent of total national tax revenue and GH¢119 million as National Fiscal Stabilisation Levy (NFSL), representing 18 percent of overall NFSL paid in Ghana.
The rest is GH¢297 million Communication Service Tax (CST), representing 56 percent of overall CST received in the year.
According to Eli Hini, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mobile Money Limited, a subsidiary of MTN Ghana, payment of such revenue is testament to the company’s commitment towards the improvement of the national economy and development.
He said, “Since we’re a good corporate citizen, the company will continue to play its role as a key partner towards achieving the aspirations of the country.”
Mr. Hini said this in Ho, the Volta Regional capital during the 2022 edition of the MTN Editors Forum and Interaction with Stakeholders.
Job Creation
He added that apart from revenue payment, the company is providing “500,000 plus jobs through its ecosystem of partnerships and suppliers alone.” These partnerships and suppliers constitute 897 local suppliers out of the total active supplier base of 1,114. This means that about 78 percent of the supplier base of the company are based in the country (local).
Furthermore, out of a total spend of GH¢3,201,552,901 on supplies in 2021, 75 percent was spent on local suppliers; thus the company spends heavily locally as its way of improving the local value chain and expertise.
US$1bn Expansion
Mr. Hini continued that being a market leader goes with greater responsibility and expectation. To this end, the company is committing $1billion to expand and improve network coverage and service quality nationwide, especially in rural and underserved areas from now to 2025.
Specifically, the investment will provide rural telephony sites and extend the network to some 398 rural areas.
Currently, all 260 district capitals in the country have been covered with the Fourth Generation (4G) network. In addition to this, the company will be “rolling out 400 new sites while some 746 would be upgraded to 4G to ensure that superior services are provided to our customers.” He revealed.
The investment is also targeted at maintaining network leadership by 2025 in line with Ghana’s digital drive.
Fibre Cuts
Mr. Hini lamented that despite the huge investments, fibre cuts remain a major challenge to the operations and network quality of the company.
This year, fibre cuts have increased from 819 in January to 939 to May, 2022 resulting in 11 percent of traffic impact monthly. The cuts were attributed to road construction and private development activities.
From Fred Duodu, Ho (k.duodu@yahoo.com)