THE TRUTH! Secrets why MTN boss quit

According to a statement from the telecom giant MTN Uganda, Sylvia Wairimu Mulinge will be the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for MTN Uganda effective October 1 , s022. She replaces Wim Vanhelleputte who has been at the helm of MTN for many years.

This announcement came as a shock to some Ugandans but some were equally not. Different sections across the nation have been drawn debating on why the once flamboyant CEO left the group.

THE TRUTH

We have been reliably informed by different sources within MTN top management and other interested parties that Wim was simply forced out of the telecom due to many factors. Simply put, he was fired but masked the move as realigning troops. Sources say Wim pleaded with powers that be to remain in Uganda where he even has a Ugandan wife and children but all fell on deaf ears. All they wanted was performance and growth of the Telecom giant and not bonking and producing kids with sexy Ugandan babes.

COMPETITION

A highly placed source has revealed to us that the pressure from competitors especially Airtel Uganda mounted on Wim after stats showed that Airtel had taken over MTN amongst the subscribers. Sources say bosses were unhappy that Airtel Uganda (not listed even on the stock market) has continued making good money for its India-based shareholders because they have rapidly overtaken MTN on the voice sales market share. Sources say an internal survey by MTN found out that most young people especially students starting from secondary up to tertiary in Uganda prefer Airtel to MTN.

Analysts say that the youth have grown with Airtel as the most affordable telecom. A source within Security circles revealed to us that Airtel Uganda is the only secure telecom when it comes to security reasons. There is no doubt that many security forces, especially police and other lower ranks in the Army, prefer Airtel. Boda riders and other private sector people think the Airtel line is safer than others.This report rattled MTN bosses.

A source adds that endless boardroom meetings were held over this issue but Wim’s answers were reportedly not satisfactory.  A decision was reached to get a new CEO that can bring robust changes.

MOBILE MONEY, DATA

There is the issue of mobile money. Many Ugandans have lost money through these services. A source within this sector confirms to us that the reported cases of mobile money theft, especially from people’s personal accounts to fraudsters are all common with MTN. This has forced Ugandans to trust more Airtel to MTN. Wim could not survive. Whereas MTN has been a leader in countrywide mobile money transactions and data sales, the report also casted doubt after it merged that Airtel is working underground to fix all this and soon it may eclipse MTN and the latter maybe relegated to number two or three with the likes of Lyca mobile (data) and wave emerging. Some users are also of the view that whereas MTN’s data is fast, it can be quickly depleted compared to Airtel.

For Mobile Money MTN only beats them in upcountry because of the superior Ericson-supplied platform they use to facilitate mobile money transfers. The truth remains that the majority find the MTN mobile money transactions way more user-friendly than Airtel’s. For instance it’s easier for MTN line owners to authorize mobile money withdrawals in favor of a recipient who is very far away from them than is the case with Airtel. However, some users now prefer using Airtel Money because of its favorable terms when it comes to borrowing (Mokash-MTN and wewole for Airtel).

For Airtel they say even if repayment is delayed, they will not demand menacely. Yet you can also keep using Airtel money for transactions. You can spend even a year and they won’t bother you. “But for MTN hooo. They will deduct the money automatically once payment is due. If you don’t use MTN money, they will bombard you with messages and calls. They even threaten to reduce your loan limit on top of reporting you to the Credit Reference Bureau and being denied loan by other lenders. I have no kind words for them,” one user told this newspaper.   

FRANCHISE

There has also been the issue of dealing with agents. These are franchise partners involved in facilitating mobile money transactions on behalf of these telecoms. Sources say MTN bosses feel the model which Airtel uses is the best and risk free compared to theirs. Airtel Uganda is known for being restrictive when it comes to this field. Whereas the MTN model encourages large sized franchise agents, whereby Mbiire/Bitature’s Simba Telecom can galvanize the whole of Buganda region as Minister Okello Oryem’s Tabley Telecom does the entire Northern, in the Airtel’s case the franchise market is too fractured.

And the idea is to avoid a situation where one franchise partner becomes too powerful so as to threaten the powerful Indian expatriates calling shots at Airtel Uganda. That is how Airtel has 137 franchise partners covering the same Uganda-wide market where MTN has only 12 larger ones. MTN bosses now feel they should have adopted the same business model but Wim, sources say, was not enthusiastic about the idea.

It’s only Keswawal, a wealthy trailer-owning Indian with a big presence in the transport and logistics sub sector, who the influential Indians at Airtel Uganda have allowed to loam large and have a significant geographical mobile money market under his franchise partnership. He is their great guy not only because he is personally well known to the Group global owners back home in India but also because he one time contributed Shs10bn towards resolution of a staff crisis that was imminent at Airtel. Shs10bn was required and this dude stepped forward to do the needful, a thing that strengthened his relationship not only with Airtel Uganda but globally.

As a result, the whole of Nakasero market territory has been preserved for his franchise partnership as has been the case with Jinja, Wakiso, Lungujja, Natete and the Entebbe neighborhood. It’s from this expansive territory that he makes up to Shs270m in commission per month at a time his other contemporaries are netting at between Shs4 and 10m. Also a close friend of Annit Kapul, Keswawal keeps between Shs5bn and 10bn invested in his Airtel money franchise dealership at any one point in time. Tycoon Mandela is one of the newest entrants into the Airtel franchise partnership dealings and his entry has equally created some uneasiness in some quarters with some stakeholders perceiving this as an attempt to crowd out native Ugandans more.

DEPORTATION SAGA

Wim was deported sometime back by the GoU. He was later allowed back in the country. However, sources say this never left him the same with his superiors and the GoU. You can forgive but you can’t forget. The trust deteriorated. A source informs us that Wim has been working tooth and nail to impress his bosses and show his innocence. Sources say some customers abandoned MTN because of this saga. Therefore to boost customer confidence Wim had to go. More details (sex in nature) will be in our subsequent publication.

The departing CEO will be remembered for overseeing some major changes at MTN during his six (6) years of service.

The MTN Group Chairman of the Board of Directors Charles Mbire highlighted that Wim successfully delivered the renewal of MTN’s NTO License, the separation of the mobile financial services business from the telco business and the initial public offer and listing of the Company on the Uganda Securities Exchange. However, some insiders say the IPO process was not handled at its best and fingers were reportedly pointed at Wim being the boss.

“Vanhelleputte has been promoted to a regional role as Operating Executive for the WECA Markets of Liberia, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, and Congo-Brazzaville within the MTN Group effective August 1, 2022,” Mbire said.