The MTN Group Limited has declared that it is looking into claims of favouritism made against its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Ralph Mupita.
Earlier this week, a South African-based newspaper, Sunday Times, reported that an unspecified number of executives threatened to quit after complaining about Mr Mupita’s leadership, favouritism, and under-performance of the group.
Mr Mupita joined MTN in 2018 as chief financial officer (CFO) and became CEO in September 2020 on a five-year contract.
The publication cited sources who claimed that the crux of the matter was Mr Mupita’s relationship with a senior female group official.
It was reported that he dishes out favours to her and has even tried to illegally usurp some of their executive responsibilities and hand them over to the executive. The paper refused to name the person in question.
Now, the telco board has stepped in to investigate the development.
Business Post also gathered that Mr Mupita has moved swiftly to allay employees’ concerns following the allegations.
He told staff in a note that the company had governance processes in place to address all employee matters, including those concerning senior leadership.
“Some of you may have seen the Sunday Times article yesterday in which various allegations were made about our company. I thought it was important that you hear directly from me about our position on the matters raised in the article.”
He said the board was going through the necessary processes to understand the matter.
“Again, we are committed to continuing working in the best interest of our stakeholders, including yourselves, our valued MTNers. As the group board works through its processes, I encourage all of us to remain focused on delivering on our operational strategic priorities,” he told the staff, as per this report.
The newspaper also alleged that Mr Mupita was on “borrowed time” due to the telco’s poor financial performance of the group.
-By Adedapo Adesanya