MTN CEO resigns as 2,000 workers continue strike

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN’s South African unit has resigned, an internal statement by Africa’s largest mobile operator said on Monday.
Ahmad Farroukh, who took up the post last year, will leave the company by the end of the month, MTN Group CEO, Sifiso Dabengwa, said in a statement circulated to the company’s staff.
Farroukh’s departure was unavoidable, due to personal and family reasons, Dabengwa said.
The announcement comes as a strike rages on at the company’s South African operations, its second-largest market, where 2,000 workers are on strike for about two months.
The departing executive joined MTN in 2006 and served as CEO of the mobile operator’s units in Nigeria and Ghana.
Entry-level staff earlier rejected an eight per cent pay increase offer by the company.
“The strike is now in its seventh week and it is problematic for both sides.
“We are hoping to meet this week and try and settle issues and address how the ‘no work, no pay’ issue will be handled,” Clyde Mervin, president of the Communication Workers Union, said.
Shares in MTN were down more than three per cent to close at 225.32 rand on Monday.