NEW VODACOM TANZANIA MD YET TO TAKE UP ROLE

Sylvia Mulinge is a Kenyan so she needs a work permit to
take up her new appointment in Tanzania.

Vodacom Tanzania's new managing director Sylvia Mulinge is yet to take up her new position, four months after her appointment, as the firm awaits a work permit from the Immigration Department.

The telco, which is Tanzania’s largest wireless telecommunications network, says it applied for the document on May 23, and is still awaiting a response.

But, the firm is still confident that the long wait will not affect operations, saying it has a business continuity plan in place.

The commercial director, Hisham Hendi, is heading the company in an acting capacity, Vodacom Tanzania PLC chairman Ali Mufuruki said in response to an inquiry by The EastAfrican.

“The pending work permit has no impact on business operations and we hope to know the outcome as soon as possible so it does not affect future performance,” Mr Mufuruki added.

Ms Mulinge, previously director of the consumer business unit at Safaricom in Kenya, was appointed in mid-April to take up the position then held by Ian Ferrao. She was to assume office on June 1.

Mr Ferrao led Vodacom Tanzania through the $213 million initial public offering in August 2016 — the country’s largest.

Vodacom controls 32 per cent market share of the country’s 40 million mobile subscribers. Its half-year results showed that its customer base grew 5.5 per cent to 13.2 million customers, up from 12.6 million over the same period last year.

Tanzania media reported that Ms Mulinge’s was not among the more than 400 work permits the Immigration department issued last week.

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