Brace for layoffs, Tigo Pesa workers cautioned

Dar es Salaam. MIC Tanzania limited, which trades as Tigo Tanzania, will terminate employment of several of its employees working under Tigo Pesa flagship to comply with the Bank of Tanzania’s (BOT) directives, The Citizen can reliably report.

The recently enacted National Payment System Act, 2015, requires Tigo and similar entities offering mobile money transaction services to alienate the same into independent entities which the BoT will regulate.

Given the legal requirement, Tigo will have no option but to estrange Tigo Pesa services, leading to employees in the section to be purged. 

“In order for this to happen, some employees will have to be layed off,” said the Tigo Tanzania Marketing Services manager, Mr Olivier Prentout, adding: “This is a legal requirement; we have no way out but to comply with the provisions of the law whose pinch will be felt among our employees.”

However, the exact number of employees to be layed off will be known when the entity for running Tigo Pesa services will be established, as it might recruit some of the victims.

Mr Prentout assured the will-be layed off workers that his company would strive to offer the victims employment opportunities available in the new entity.

He pleaded with Tigo Tanzania customers to remain calm during the transition period, saying the firm would mainten its Tigo Pesa operations and mitigate any foreseeable inconvenience resulting from the legal changeover to them.   

The Tigo marketing services boss said the company was in collaboration with the BoT establishing an operational model for the new entity, including its structure and fucntions.

Yesterday) Tigo was scheduled to hold a consultative meeting with the will-be affected employees in a bid to explain to them on reasons for forthcoming retrenchment and measures to be taken to avoid or minimise its ripple effect.