MTN Board supports CEO after probing favoritism allegations

MTN Group Ltd.’s board said it supports Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita, after an investigation by an independent law firm tapped to look into allegations of improper conduct by the African wireless carrier’s executives didn’t find evidence of wrongdoing.

“The independent report stated that attempts to engage with the complainant were unsuccessful and found that there was no evidence of improper conduct by those cited in the complaint,” the board said in a statement on Friday. “In its deliberations, the board accepted the report finding and is of the view that the matter has been addressed and is now closed.”

The Johannesburg-based Sunday Times had reported that an unspecified number of executives had threatened to quit after complaining about Mupita’s behavior, and said he’d allegedly given preferential treatment to a female executive. The newspaper cited people it didn’t identify.

Ten of MTN’s 15 executives, besides Mupita, responded by signing a memo backing the CEO, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to discuss it publicly.

Mupita, whose contract is up for renewal next year, has been leading the South African telecommunications company for four years and was its finance chief previously. He sent a letter to staff earlier this week assuring them that the company has governance processes in place to address employee matters, including those concerning senior leadership, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg.

Watch the latest edition of BizTech below:

Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.

Click here to follow the GhanaWeb Business WhatsApp channel