JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The board of Africa’s biggest mobile network operator MTN Group said on Friday it was in full support of its group CEO Ralph Mupita after an independent report found no evidence to support anonymous allegations of improper conduct against him.
South Africa’s Sunday Times newspaper reported on Sunday that a number of group executives it did not identify had threatened to quit after complaining Mupita had allegedly showed favouritism to a female executive and lacked accountability.
The board held a special meeting on Wednesday to deliberate on a report by an independent law firm tasked to verify allegations contained in an anonymous complaint against members of the MTN executive, the operator said in a statement on Friday.
“The independent report stated that attempts to engage with the complainant were unsuccessful and found that there was no evidence of improper conduct by those cited in the complaint,” the company said.
“In its deliberations, the board accepted the report finding and is of the view that the matter has been addressed and is now closed.”
The board further expressed “its full support” for Mupita and the MTN strategy, the company added.
Mupita is leading the Johannesburg-based mobile operator at a time when it is grappling with currency devaluations in its biggest market Nigeria, leading to a half-year loss before tax of 9 billion rand ($508 million).
Under the operator’s Ambition 2025 strategy, Mupita has also made a big bet on financial services, fibre and data as these services enjoy growing demand from data-hungry consumers and businesses.
($1 = 17.7132 rand)
(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Jan Harvey)
