Museveni ‘astonished’ MTN Uganda allowed to pay less for licence renewal
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni wrote in a letter that MTN Uganda had ‘reaped vast profits, most of which have obviously been repatriated’
Kampala — Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has criticised the telecommunications regulator after it slashed MTN Uganda's fee for renewing its telecoms licence, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Local media reported on Tuesday that the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) had decided to charge MTN Uganda, which is owned by SA's MTN Group, $58m to renew its licence for 10 years, instead of $100m originally set for the renewal. MTN Uganda is the country's biggest telecoms operator. Museveni, in a letter to the communications minister and the attorney-general dated November 19, said he was "astonished" by UCC's decision to cut the charge to $58m. In a letter in response dated December 14, the minister for information, communication, technology and national guidance, said UCC had decided to cut MTN's fee to $58m from $100m after MTN said it would need to invest about $200m to meet the conditions of a new national broadband policy. The policy compels telecom operators to invest i...
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