As a condition to be issued with a long term licence, South African telecom giant, MTN, in Uganda will list at least 20 per cent of its shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange, and pay $100 million in blanket taxes.
This marks the end of a three-year tussle with the government, and finally securing the future of MTN operations in Uganda.
The agreement to pay the $100 million is good news for the Uganda Revenue Authority as MTN has agreed to pay in just two instalments of $50 million each, with the first payment expected as early as March 15, and the second in April or before the end of the financial year.
The final agreement was reached at a meeting at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance attended by officials from the regulator Uganda Communications Commission, the Ministry of Finance and MTN executives.
“It is true that MTN agreed to pay the $100 million in return for a licence for 14 years.
“As government, we had wanted to give them 10 years but they explained that they have to invest in infrastructure upgrades and that their investment plan will see them injecting an extra $260 million over the period so we agreed on 14 years,” State Minister for ICT Peter Ogwang.
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