Sylvia Mulinge heads back to Safaricom after Tanzania declined to issue
her with a work permit to take up an MD job in Vodacom. FILE PHOTO |
COURTESY
Tanzania's largest telecom Vodacom has confirmed that a work
permit application for Sylvia Mulinge who had been appointed as its
managing director was declined by the Labour Commissioner.
She was to assume office on June 1.
In a statement Friday, the telco said it would begin the search to replace the Kenyan national.
“Vodacom
Tanzania remains fully committed to identifying a candidate that will
not only inspire confidence in investors but also have the requisite
governance capability as CEO of a listed company.
“Naturally,
we are disappointed, and we regret the Labour Commissioner’s decision.
We will be engaging with the authorities. We are confident that Vodacom
Tanzania has a strong management team in place to lead the company
effectively until the search for a suitable candidate is finalised,” the
company's chairman Mr Ali Mufuruki said.
Currently, Mr Hisham Hendi is Vodacom’s acting chief executive officer.
The telco, which listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange
(DSE) last year, did not give reasons for the government's decision on
Ms Mulinge's work permit. However, media reports earlier had suggested
that authorities believed that there were Tanzanians who could do the
job.
Efforts to reach the Labour Commissioner’s office proved futile as calls went unanswered.
Vodacom's
statement was released a day after Kenyan giant telco Safaricom
announced that it had rehired Ms Mulinge following nearly five months of
unresolved work permit issues that locked her out of Tanzania.
Ms
Mulinge was the director for consumer business before she was picked
for Vodacom. She now returns as director for special projects.
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