Africa-Press – South-Africa. International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor has called on MTN and authorities in Ghana, the company’s third-biggest market, to deal with a R13 billion tax dispute urgently.
Earlier in January the telecoms giants was hit with a surprise R13 billion back-tax bill from the Ghana Revenue Authority, due to a new methodology to track call data records. Bloomberg reported that MTN would start a dispute resolution process if talks with the tax authority failed.
Pandor was briefed on the matter last week and her department issued a statement saying she encouraged MTN to work with the authorities in Ghana to find a solution.
“The minister calls on the parties involved to do everything possible to find an amicable solution to these reported challenges,” the department said.
Pandor said the government was committed to promoting South African investment in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa.
“South Africa is one of the largest foreign direct investors in Ghana, mainly in mining, communication, beverages, retail and franchising, etc. These investments contribute to the Ghanaian gross domestic product and job creation.”
Pandor had previously met with CEOs of South African companies operating in the continent, and according the department’s statement they told her of a number of difficulties, including “unfavourable market conditions and inconsistent regulatory frameworks, inconsistent tax regimes, repatriation of funds and delays in loan repayments.”
“Of major concern is that competitors of South African companies from other parts of the world do not appear to be subjected to the challenges that South African companies are subjected to.”
Late last year Ghana’s National Communications Authority issued a directive concerns deactivating those SIM cards that have completed the first stage of a registration process, or linking of their Ghana Card ID to their SIM card, but not the second stage, which concerns biometric capture.
The company has dealt with similar problems in Nigeria, its second largest market.
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