Tanzania government claims ownership of Airtel

pulse-ghana admin 15:38 - 21 December 2017

Tanzania's President has directed officials to make moves to reclaim the ownership of Airtel

The president of Tanzania, John Magufuli has directed the Finance minister to make follow-ups on the ownership of Airtel in the country.

According to the president, Airtel is fully owned by the state company, making a strong argument that there was an irregularity in switching the shares of Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited (TTCL) to Airtel in 2001 when the firm was operating as Celtel Tanzania.

The management of Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited (TTCL) has started a move to repossess Airtel.

Speaking to journalists today, TTCL Chief Executive Officer clarified that at the moment, Airtel does not belong to TTCL.

“We want to retain our company (Airtel) of which its shares were shifted to the government many years ago,” the CEO OF TTCL told journalists in an interview.

He however clarified that at the moment Airtel does not belong to TTCL.

Mr. Magufuli has accused some government officials of engaging in ‘dirty games’ and acting in their parochial interest, at the expense of national interest.

Tanzania’s parliament recently passed a new law that saw the previously privatised TTCL revert into a fully public owned corporation with an added role to play in the telecommunications sector.