MTN Ghana has pledged to achieve a 50/50 balance of their workforce by 2030 as part of its Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) initiative. This remark was made by the Acting Chief Human Resource Officer, Mr. Abdallah Ibrahim as part of activities to mark International Women’s Day in Accra.

Mr. Ibrahim said that MTN Ghana’s D&I aims to include less represented groups, such as women and the differently abled, and has over the past two years made efforts to bridge that gap. “We want to be able to improve women’s representation in leadership positions,” he added.

He said that the company was targeting aggressive ways to be able to achieve their D&I by 2030 by reconsidering external recruitment and internal programmes such as Women in Technology to help develop women. He disclosed that close to 60 percent of external hires in 2023 were female, and MTN Ghana aimed to do an additional 1.5 percent in 2024.

The National Communications Authority (NCA) is gearing up to start regulating the frequency with which telcos adjust their tariffs in the country, and this is specifically because of the emergence of MTN Ghana as a significant market power (SMP).

Traditionally, NCA does not regulate tariffs, but it has been compelled to initiate the process towards tariff regulation solely because of the existence of a significant market power (SMP) called MTN in the telecoms industry. The NCA is doing this in pursuant of of Section 25(2) of the Electronic Communications Act, 2028, Act 775, which states as follows:

The Authority may establish price regulation regimes, which may include the setting, review and approval of prices by Regulation, where
(a) there is only one network operator or service provider or one network operator or service provider that has significant market power,

(b) a sole network operator or service provider or a network operator or service provider with significant market power and cross-subsidises network or service, and another electronic communications

(c) the Authority detects anti-competitive pricing or acts of unfair competition.

Since naming MTN SMP, the NCA has accused MTN of violating SMP rules at least once, when MTN prized its Data Zone bundles below the price the non-SMP telcos were offering for similar packages. MTN was then compelled to abolish those low-priced packages and raise the prices. Barring that, per (a) above, even the very existence of one SMP in the industry, gives the NCA the right to regulate prices.

Background

In June 2020, the NCA declared MTN Ghana SMP, saying that the telco had controlled over 75% of voice, data, SMS, mobile money and revenue share in Ghana’s telecoms industry several years prior. It therefore became necessary to name MTN SMP in order to implement the necessary measures to correct the market imbalance.

It has been more than three years since MTN was declared SMP, but the industry is yet to witness a single positive dividend. The status quo, in terms of the structure and trajectory of the industry remains unchanged in spite of the SMP declaration. In fact, MTN seems to be growing at a faster rate now than in the pre-SMP era.

As part of its efforts to improve healthcare infrastructure in Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh, the CEO of MTN Ghana, has unveiled plans of the MTN Ghana Foundation to ramp up support for the Ho Teaching Hospital’s Accident and Emergency block starting in June 2024.

This announcement came as part of MTN’s commitment to bolstering healthcare facilities across the country during the commissioning of the newly established 60-bed maternity and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) block at the Keta Municipal Hospital, a project funded by MTN Ghana for 19 million Ghanaian cedis.

The introduction of the state-of-the-art maternity and NICU block at the Keta Municipal Hospital signals a significant stride in the provision of specialized healthcare services for women and newborns in the region.

Furthermore, Adadevoh’s declaration of MTN’s intent to undertake the expansion of the Accident and Emergency block at the Ho Teaching Hospital reinforces MTN Ghana’s unwavering dedication to ameliorating the healthcare landscape in the country.

During the commissioning ceremony, Adadevoh expressed his gratitude for the collaboration between the MTN Ghana Foundation and the government in bringing the Keta Municipal Hospital project to fruition.

He underscored the company’s commitment to pursuing initiatives that positively impact healthcare delivery, emphasizing that the expansion of the Ho Teaching Hospital’s Accident and Emergency block is a critical element of their strategic agenda for future interventions in the sector.

From 26 to 29 February 2024, the Spanish city of Barcelona, a model smart city in Europe for the digitalization of basic services, hosted the Mobile World Congress (MWC). Among the telecoms players who made their presence felt was Huawei.