The Ugandan Communications Commission has been ordered to clarify a $2 million reduction in MTN’s license renewal fee.
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni is unhappy with circumstances leading to the reduction and wants that probed.
Museveni says the Telecom firm has made enough profit in it’s twenty years of operation in Uganda and does not deserve such reduction.
Local media reports suggest that MTN negotiated to pay $58 million instead of the proposed $100 million after the expiration of it’s license for the next ten years.
Mr. Musevini is also questioning why the country’s Finance Ministry and the Uganda Revenue Authority were excluded from the negotiation.
He has therefore asked that the two institutions be involved in resolving the issue in the next two weeks.
But Head of Legal Department at the Uganda’s Communication Commission says the amount was reached after MTN raised some questions about high cost of operations.
He says the Telecom firm made a case about the $200 million it intends spending on the country’s National Broadband Policy.
MTN which operates in 22 countries globally currently pays $200 million in Nigeria, $170 million in Benin and $27 million in Kenya for the renewal of its license.
Source: Africafeeds.com
