FLY ON THE WALL: Plum jobs, nationality and accountability

The last 12 months have not been easy for the telecommunications sector in East Africa by any long shot.

That explains why the resignation of Mr Ali Mufuruki as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vodacom Tanzania and, the appointment Cof Mr Peter Ndegwa as Chief Executive Officer of Safaricom PLC Ltd, East Africa’s most profitable company, need some explaining in context.

For purposes of background, in May this year, the CEO of MTN Uganda Mr Wim VanHellputte was deported from Uganda together with two other senior officials for what was called security reasons.

During this last year, and year before that, Vodacom Tanzania was in the news quite a bit for what transpired as it went on a search for its new Managing Director following the end of tenure of Mr Ian Ferro.

In the very same year, East Africa’s most profitable company, Safaricom Plc Ltd, lost its iconic CEO Mr Bob Collmore to cancer and the search began for a successor.

The telecommunications sector in East Africa has grown tremendously since the days of the flamboyant Eng James Rege, the Kenyan ex-Iridium Africa Managing Director who started Vodacom Tanzania from scratch in the year 2000.

Today, MTN Uganda, Uganda’s largest mobile company enjoys a subscriber base of 11 million. Vodacom Tanzania and Safaricom boast of 14 million and 33 million respectively. All three are market leaders although only Safaricom can be said to be a dominant market player.

In the days of Eng Rege no one had an idea that the mobile telecommunications would be the fore bearer to a now world no 1 mobile money service that has played a significant role in banking the unbanked and thereby financial inclusion. When Mr Van Helleputte was deported together with two senior managers, pundits went to town with conspiracy theories that the cultures were circling ready to pounce on the ownership of the lucrative company.

Our successful telecommunications companies have been built by men and women of repute to pursue our very own levels of Fortune 500 companies in this region and there is no doubting the political vultures would one day come calling.

Under the guise of local ownership, laws have been crafted to force mobile companies to cede ownership and list on local stock exchanges at the speed of light. The governments both in Uganda and Tanzania were keen to get a hand in the pie for “free”. Talk about what this does to the doing of business environment for both countries.

All that was water under the bridge. Then the deportations and demise of CEO came calling and, locally, the Vodacom corner office became vacant and all three giant telecom operators were in the news, once again.

The lessons we learn in all this process are hidden in the seemingly innocuous decision by Mufuruki to resign as Chairman of the Board of directors barely three years after taking over the mantle. You do not need to be a TB Joshua to see the unseen hand (leading to the push/exit) of Mr Mufuruki, in this departure.

There are two areas that successful telecom companies hold that the government is in serious need of; security data and a liquid trophy turve of cash. The unfortunate part is governments do not negotiate when they want what they want.

Even more importantly however, is the lesson for all Tanzanian and by extensions East African wanna be corporate titans. Do anything and all you can to earn the epaulettes but remember that most of all, an impeccable integrity test is what will see you through the doors of the corner office, nothing else.

Mr Njenga who has bagged the top job in Safaricom comes from a background in Finance at one of the world’s best audit and finance consulting outfits i.e. Price Water House Cooper.

Reminds me that challenged publicly by Mr Mufuruki, our Labour Ministry has never produced a list of five qualified Tanzanians who could be considered for the role of managing director of Vodacom based on the criteria provided other than their being locals.