SA govt urges middle-path in MTN Ghana tax dispute
The South African government is calling for a middle-path solution to MTN’s tax fallout in Ghana. International relations and cooperation minister Dr Naledi Pandor on Friday implored Africa’s largest mobile phone network operator “to work closely with the authorities in Ghana to devise a solution”. This comes after MTN was hit with a R13 billion tax assessment by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) on 11 January. The revised tax assessment stems from an audit of MTN Ghana commenced by the GRA in 2019, which covered the period 2014 to 2018. Ralph Mupita, MTN Group CEO, said the objective of the audit was “to give assurance on the reliability and completeness of revenues declared by MTN Ghana for the purposes of calculating taxes”. The GRA then issued the assessment to MTN Ghana for an amount of approximately R13 billion ($773 million). This includes penalties and interest charges. The telco notes with this assessment, the GRA infers MTN Ghana under-declared its revenue by approximately 30% over the five-year period in question. The 30% is based on MTN calculations, and the company says it “strongly disputes this” and it will defend its position. MTN is questioning the accuracy and basis of the GRA’s assessment, including the methodology used in conducting the audit. “It is important to also emphasise that we believe MTN Ghana has paid its due taxes during this period under assessment,” Mupita told analysts on 16 January. MTN is now in engagements with authorities in Ghana for the temporary withdrawal of the assessment. On Friday, the South African government weighed, calling for fairness in dealing with the matter, adding it is committed to promoting increased South African investment in Ghana. “South Africa is one of the largest foreign direct investors in Ghana, mainly in mining, communication, beverages, retail and franchising, etc,” said Pandor. “These investments contribute to the Ghanaian gross domestic product (GDP) and job creation. According to the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, there are over 100 South African companies registered and operating in Ghana, employing over 19 087 Ghanaians and 510 expatriates. Over the past 10 years, South African companies have undertaken over 170 projects in Ghana, valued in excess of $1 431 523 166 in capital investment.” Win-win cooperation The minister deplored the treatment of local businesses across Africa, saying she previously held meetings with CEOs of South African companies invested and operating on the continent. “They [CEOs] have reported an increasing number of difficulties, ranging from unfavourable market conditions and inconsistent regulatory frameworks, inconsistent tax regimes, repatriation of funds and delays in loan repayments. “Of major concern is that competitors of South African companies from other parts of the world do not appear to be subjected to the challenges South African companies are subjected to.” These unfavourable conditions, Pandor said, have led to disinvestment in some African markets by major South African companies, such as Shoprite, Game, Mr Price, Foschini, Woolworths, Tiger Brands, Sasol-Chemicals, Sasol-Gas, Group Five, Murray and Roberts, Metrolife Group, Telkom, Southern Sun and Protea Group, to name a few. “The disinvestment has had a devastating impact on employment opportunities, poverty and inequalities, in particular, and GDP growth, in general.” Pandor went on urge MTN and Ghana authorities “to do everything possible to find an amicable solution to these reported challenges”. “Our common destiny, as outlined in the Agenda 2063 aspirations, depend on win-win intra-African collaboration and cooperation.” Ghana is one of the key markets for MTN, which has operations in 19 countries and 285 million subscribers. MTN Ghana was the first telecoms provider in Ghana to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) in 2018, and the amount raised in the initial public offering (IPO) was the highest to be raised in an IPO on the GSE. In addition, the IPO was the first in the world to use mobile financial services – MTN Mobile Money – as a medium to subscribe to shares. —itweb.co.za— For publication please kindly contact us on +233256336062 or Email apexnewsgh@gmail.com
MTN Ayoba MoMo Accelerator Awards: Noni Hub wins ultimate prize
Mobile telecommunications giant, MTN Ghana, has rewarded five startup hubs who emerged winners at the maiden MTN Ayoba MoMo Accelerator competition. This competition was created by MTN Ghana and Ayoba for all startup hubs across the country to bring forward their digital solutions by leveraging Ayoba App to grow their businesses. At the end of the competition, Wa-based Noni Hub, an Information Technology (IT) firm won the ultimate prize. The firm, which currently has three micro apps on the MTN Ayoba platform, received GH¢50,000, a lifetime partnership with MTN Ayoba, a certificate, and souvenirs from MTN Ghana and Ayoba. Noni Hub was adjudged the Top Tech Hub category, while Top Ayoba Influencer went to Damasko Smart App. Also, Smithfield, an agribusiness app won in the Experts Choice category. In the Users Choice category, Africa Global Radio emerged as ‘the Most Liked App’; and the Best MoMo Solution App went to the Tudu Online Shopping app. These other four winners received GH¢20,000 each, certificates, lifetime partnerships, including an opportunity to put their apps on Ayoba platform which has over 2.5 million active customers in Ghana and 21 million across Africa. An elated Chief Executive Officer of Noni Hub, Sumaila Chakurah, dedicated the ultimate prize to his team and the people of Wa and the whole of the Upper West Region for their support. He said they are working to put more app on the Ayoba platforms to help clients who have limited knowledge about the service. Mr Chakurah expressed profound gratitude to MTN Ghana for the laudable initiative and urged other developers to take advantage of Ayoba. For his part, the Chief Digital Officer of MTN Ghana, Dario Bianchi, said they are committed to driving digital and financial inclusion in Ghana. He noted that the main aim of the competition is to push local businesses to leverage Ayoba as a platform to sell their businesses across Africa. The MTN Chief Digital Officer stressed that the Ayoba app has provided exciting content for all users irrespective of their locations in the country. He indicated that, aside from chatting for free via instant messaging, Ayoba offers access to an in-app music player which brings weekly updates on the latest African and international music. In the era of cybercrime, Mr Bianchi assured users of adequate security to protect their intellectual properties. “We have strong security measures in place to protect our customers from cyber fraud,” he added. MTN Ayoba is available on Google Playstore to all MTN and non-MTN customers in the digital ecosystem who wish to enjoy all service and rich media content Ayoba provides. All MTN users are allowed to enjoy all these services and more on Ayoba for free- no data is required.
MTN Ghana disputes $773m tax liability imposed by GRA
MTN Ghana is strongly disputing an alleged tax infringement placed on the company by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) between 2014 and 2018. According to the leading telecom firm, it is a tax-compliant corporate citizen and the tax liability notice of GH¢8,209,603,842.14 (US$773 million) issued against it by the GRA is unacceptable. The assessment of ¢8,209,603,842.14 includes penalties and interest charges. “In this regard, from the base component of the assessment (that is, excluding penalties and interest), on MTN Ghana’s analysis, the GRA infers that MTN Ghana under declared its revenue by more than approximately 30% over the 5-year period 2014 to 2018”, it said in a statement. “The GRA audited MTN Ghana for the period 2014-2018, using a third-party consultant as well as a new methodology based on call data records (CDR), recharges, and other data. MTN Ghana strongly disputes the accuracy and basis of the Assessment, including the methodology used in conducting the audit. MTN Ghana believes that taxes due have been paid during the period under assessment”, it explained. MTN Ghana believed the taxes due have been paid during the period under assessment. The statement further said MTN Group and MTN Ghana will continue to engage with the relevant authorities on this matter and MTN remains resolute that MTN Ghana is a tax compliant corporate citizen. Again, it said MTN Ghana would like to further assure its shareholders and other stakeholders that MTN Ghana is a responsible business with an absolute commitment to transparency, good corporate governance, and compliance. MTN Ghana one of largest taxpayers in Ghana MTN Ghana is one of the largest private sector taxpayers in Ghana, having been recognized on numerous occasions for its support of the GRA’s revenue mobilization efforts. The GRA has also satisfactorily concluded multiple tax assessments on MTN Ghana over many years and presented MTN Ghana with various taxpayer awards in recognition of its contribution to the fiscal development of the country. MTN Ghana thanked the GRA for its support throughout the process, especially allowing us a temporary withdrawal of the Notice of Assessment in a bid to resolve this matter in an amicable manner. Background In 2019, the GRA commenced an audit of MTN Ghana with the objective to give assurance on the reliability and completeness of revenues declared by MTN Ghana for the purpose of tax computation for the period 2014-2018. The GRA had not issued MTN Ghana with any prior guidelines and standards relating to the new CDR sequence-based methodology used for the audit. In May 2021, after consultations and discussions between MTN Ghana, MTN Group, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Ghana and the GRA, the parties agreed to an independent review by a global professional services firm. MTN Ghana has fully cooperated in this independent review, which was commissioned by the GRA in September 2021. The independent review found that it was unable to support the conclusions reached by the GRA’s third-party consultants as the basis for the assessment.
MTN Ghana recognized for employing best project management standards and practices
MTN Ghana has been recognized for its consistency in employing best project management standards and practices at the 4th Project Management Awards Ghana held in Accra a few days to the festive season. MTN Ghana received six awards, the highest number at the event. This showing by MTN Ghana is a continuation from previous successes chalked consistently by MTN at the Project Management Awards Ghana. The awards won by MTN are:• Economic Impact Award• Project Management Company of the Year• Project of the Year – Western Corridor Project• Project Team of the Year – Fibre Project Team• Distinguished Contribution to Project Management – Dario Bianchi• Project Director of the Year – William Tetteh William Tetteh, Chief Capital Projects Officer of MTN Ghana won the Project Director of the Year award for the second consecutive time. William was recognized for demonstrating great leadership and support to achieving project goals and overall contribution to strategic objectives. The Chief Digital Officer of MTN Ghana, Dario Bianchi won the distinguished Contribution to Project Management award for his promotion of excellence in project management practices in the digital space and for constantly educating staff to conform to the project management practices on their digital journey. In his remarks, William thanked the organizers for the recognition. He dedicated the awards to his team, all MTN staff for supporting the project teams, suppliers and stakeholders for their immersed contribution to supporting MTN in executing and delivering projects on time and within schedule. The Chief Executive Officer, Selorm Adadevoh congratulated Dario and William for the personality awards. He said, “it is exciting to see MTN rewarded for doing the right thing. This recognition will enable us to take a step further to ensure all standards and procedures are adhered to the letter. MTN Ghana executed various projects which were recognized at the event. The Project Management Standards and Procedures employed by MTN, the Governance Structure and training of MTN Staff won the business Project Management Company of the Year. MTN’s commitment to training 100 young women and men in Nsawam and Suhum districts in the Eastern Region with skills in mobile phone repairs to provide employment to the youth won the Economic Impact Award. The 2022 Western Corridor Fiber Capacity Expansion Project rolled out using existing Third-Party Fiber infrastructure to resolve transmission capacity constraints within the Western and Western North Regions won both the Project of the Year and Project Team of the Year awards. The Project Management awards recognizes individuals or organisations who pursue best practices in economic development through projects and attained the highest standards of professional conduct and competence within the project management space. MTN GHANA—
MoMo Customers: Do More with Increased Wallet and Transaction Limits
MTN MoMo has implemented the Bank of Ghana (BoG) approved increase in daily and monthly transaction limits as well as maximum wallet balances. The wallet transaction limit increase will facilitate efficient payments, encourage greater seamless transition into a Cash-lite society and promote more digital payments. Customers with Daily Transaction Limits of GHC 1,000, GHC5,000 and GHC10,000 have had their limits increased to GHC2,000, GHC10,000 and GHC15,000 respectively. Additionally, Account balance limits of GHC2,000, GHC15,000 and GHC 30,000 have been increased to GHC3,000, GHC30,000 and GHC 50,000 respectively. Further to these increases, monthly transaction limits for customers with Medium and Enhanced KYC are limitless while customers with Minimum KYC have a limit of GHC 6,000. The Ag. CEO of MobileMoney Limited, Mr. Shaibu Haruna expressed his delight over the upward reviews approved by the BoG, following engagements to assess the possibilities of reviews to enhance digital payments and ultimately drive the Cash -lite agenda. He said, “MML following the approval has gone ahead to implement the directives to ensure that our customers enjoy the convenience of doing various transactions such as the Money Transfer, Bill Payments, receive Remittances, Buy Insurance, Buy Shares, Payment of school fees as well as general goods and services.” “We are calling on all customers to take advantage of the enhancement in wallet size to grow their transactions and improve their livelihoods.” The upward reviews have been activated for all MoMo subscribers. However, Customers who require further enhancements on their wallet are required to provide any of the following documents: Utility Bill in customer’s name, Bank Statement,Registered Tenancy Agreement, Letter from your employer.Tax Certificate The document should be presented at any MTN Service Centre or engage MTN Ghana through its digital channels: Twitter: @MTNGhana or @AskMTNGhana; Facebook: MTN Ghana or WhatsApp:0554300000. Customers are advised to beware of the activities of fraudsters and report fraud issues by text to 1515 or 419. For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email apexnewsgh@gmail.com
MTN Brigtenining lives, as mothers who delivered babies on Xmas day received hampers
The Upper East Regional branch of MTN Ghana, the country’s leading telecommunication has gifted hampers numbering 52 to nursing mothers of babies born on Christmas Day. The hamper includes, towels, diapers, blankets, toiletries, clothes, soap, and some other baby necessities. The visit of the MTN Officials at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital saw 9 new babies delivered on Christmas day and the 9 comprises of 3 females and 6 males. In Bongo newborn babies numbering 9 were also delivered on Christmas Day and their nursing mothers were given hampers.Moving to the North East Region, the team visited Walewale hospital and Nalerigu Baptist Medical Center. At the Walewale Hospital, on 25th December babies numbering 19 were born and at the Nalerigu Baptist Medical Center 15 also saw their delivery that same day. However, the nursing mothers who received their surprising hampers from officials of MTN were all excited and grateful to them as they pray for the company’s prosperity ahead of 2023. Yabila Mary, one of the nursing mothers who received a hamper from MTN also expressed her gratitude to the leading telecommunication for their kind gesture. She said, she wasn’t expecting a such surprising gift from MTN. Meanwhile, addressing the media, the Territory Sales Controller for the Upper East Region Mr. Richard Asamane, said the yellow family is thinking about people that are coming into the world around this festive season. ”Christmas is a yuletide season and is a season of joy, season happiness, is a season of making merry and sharing and as MTN we believe in the season by going out and reaching these people show that the season yuletide is been shared. The yellow family is thinking about people that are coming into the world around this festive season. You could see the smile that were on the faces of these mothers when they received these wonderful hamper gifts and airtime of Ghc 100.00. That is just what we seek to do by brightening the lives of people”. He explained Meanwhile, Staff Midwives who were at post during the visit expressed satisfaction with the step taken by MTN. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie StephenPlease contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0256336062
MTN Ghana Marks International Fraud And Ethics Awareness Week
MTN Ghana joined the rest of the world to celebrate International Fraud and Ethics Awareness Week and Global Ethics Day. The International Fraud and Ethics Awareness Week which was on the theme, “Whistleblowing a means to combating fraud”, sought to create awareness on whistleblowing hotlines and precautionary measures taken to ensure the safety and protection of users of the hotline to report fraud and misconduct. Global Ethics Day was celebrated on the theme “Empowering ethics as a force to prevent fraud”. The themes express the importance of ethical conduct in combatting fraud. Speaking on the Fraud and Ethics Awareness week celebration, the General Manager of Internal Audit and Forensics at MTN Ghana, Michael Gbewonyo said, “Over the years, MTN has positioned itself as a good corporate citizen. We have always believed in the value and importance of maintaining the highest standards of ethical conduct. All of us have an important role to play in combating fraud and creating an ethical and fraud-free work environment”. “In order for us to lead digital solutions for Africa’s progress, we need to stand against fraud and unethical behavior. For us at MTN, we are asking, “what are you doing today” to fight fraud. When you see it, say it. Doing breaks boundaries”, he added. The Chief Commercial Officer of MTN Ghana, Noel Kojo-Ganson at the Global Ethics Day live event encouraged employees to continue to abide by the ethical principles of the company to achieve the goal of preventing the occurrence of fraud. “Fraud is a human problem, and the assured solution is achieved when people are committed, and action their decision not to perpetrate fraud. It is this commitment we seek to harness among ourselves as MTN staff to build a thriving culture for ourselves, our partners, and stakeholders alike, he stated. MTN Ghana held activities aimed at sensitizing management, staff, and customers about the importance of maintaining ethical standards and the repercussions of fraud. Activities included workshops, training sessions and publications on building trust in MTN Ghana’s whistleblowing line, empowering ethics as a force to prevent fraud, assess staff’s understanding on the celebration, focused fraud awareness initiatives for frontline staff, and insights sharing on best practices to protect themselves from predatory fraudsters. Held annually and convened by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the International Fraud and Ethics Awareness week provides a platform for anti-fraud professionals, activists, and stakeholders to educate individuals on fraud, its impact and preventive measures, while Global Ethics Day provides an annual opportunity for MTN Ghana to deepen its commitment to ethical business conduct Source: MTN Ghana For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email apexnewsgh@gmail.com
MTN Ghana Launches Its eSIM Product
MTN Ghana today launched its electronic SIM (eSIM) today. The eSIM is now available to MTN customers including Prepaid, Post paid and corporate subscribers. The eSIM functions can be accessed digitally via the MyMTN App. Customers with already registered numbers with MTN will have their numbers upgraded to eSIM. An eSIM is a virtual SIM that is inbuilt in mobile and smart devices at the point of manufacture. Mobile users can switch between multiple mobile numbers on a single SIM device without switching out SIM cards. All new eSIM activations will come with a free 10GB one-off non-expiry data bundle. The introduction of eSIM is in line with MTN’s vision ‘to lead the delivery of a bold, new digital world to its customers’ and fulfil its Ambition 2025 objectives. In 2020, MTN Nigeria was testing its eSIM product in their market. Fast forward to 2022 and Ghana customers can now access that same product. Technovagh–
Ghana: SMEs Urged to Use MTN Ayoba Platform to Showcase Products
Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups have been urged to use the MTN Ayoba platform to showcase their businesses to the local and global market. Chief Executive Officer of Ayoba, Burak Akanci who made the call during an interaction with the media said SMEs could gain local and international traction through Ayoba. He said Ayoba was zero rated and individuals and businesses could access the platform and advertise their products free of charge. He said Ayoba currently had more than 15 million users across the global and about 2.5 million users in Ghana. MTN Ghana launched the social media platform in 2020 to allow digital consumers as well content creators to download and upload information for free of charge. Digital consumers could access fashion, sports, entertain-ment news, games and music free of charge. Mr Akanci said Ayoba was created to provide access to content and modern communi-cation tools to digital consumers for free. He said the platform was created with three pillars such as communication, content and micro application. On communication, Mr Akanci said the objective of the platform was to provide users opportunity to access voice and video calls. For content, he said the plat-form was created to allow people to have access to quality content and for content developers to upload their products on the platform free of charge. Mr Akanci said the third pillar of Ayoba, which is micro applica-tion was to provide opportunity for budding application devel-opers to upload their games and applications on the platform. Asked about the future of Ayoba, Mr Akanci said “We would like to see Ayoba in a way that every user finds satisfaction in using the platform. “We want to become a platform service providers find value and traction,” Mr Akanci said. He said 23 more languages were being introduced on the Ayoba platform to help more people to access the platform. The Ayoba CEO said to help SMEs and Start-Ups to build thriving businesses, Ayoba Ac-celerator programme had been introduced to build the capacity of owners of small businesses and start-ups. Chief Digital Officer of MTN Ghana, Dario Bianchi, said about 1000 agents had been recruited across the country to market the products in markets and other social places. He said the company was ad-vertising the products on digital channels to increase adoption. He said there are about 20 applications on Ayoba and half of the applications were devel-oped by Ghanaian Start-ups. Ghanaiantimes— For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email apexnewsgh@gmail.com
MTN MoMo to become full business platform – CEO
The Chief Executive Officer of the Mobile Money for MTN, Mr. Shaibu Haruna, says the company is to transition its MoMo Services to a full business platform as part of broader ambition for 2025 strategy. He said solid services would be introduced in the coming years to advance customer experience as an evolving mobile financial tool. The CEO was speaking at an Awards and Dinner night to appreciate and reward 250 merchants and agents, who have held the brand on high from operational areas such as Cape Coast, Mankessim, Kasoa, Sekondi and Tarkwa. The top performing Vendors received Motor Bikes, Smart TVs, Laptops, and CCTV Cameras, with the overall best MoMo Agent for the South-West Business District took home Ghc50,000 electronic cash and motorbike. In 2009, MTN Ghana sets out to redefine the course of Ghana’s financial sector with the launch of MoMo and after 10 years of implementation, this e-financial mechanism had become a major bug in homes and the business community in general. The service has 11.3 million subscribers with 250,000 agents and 200,000 merchants across the country. Mr Haruna attributed the successes over the last decade to the critical contributions of merchants and agents. The Senior Manager for MTN South-West Business, Mr. Prince Nyarko said the event had always presented an opportunity to take stock of the year’s activities and reward the excellence and resilience of the vendors. He described the financial year as a difficult one with the introduction of e-levy as well as the challenges customers had with accessing their MoMo wallets during the sim barring exercise, adding, ” but our resilience as a people has enabled us to soldier on and today, we are here to celebrate our achievements and strategize for next year.” The top three awards were picked by Big Joe Ventures from Kasoa, who took home a plaque, motorbike and an electronic cash of 50,000, Rossey Venture, motorbike and an electronic cash of 20,000 and Peoples Investment a motorbike and an electronic cash of 10,000. Source: GNA