MTN Group has made a commitment to invest $1bn in Ghana over the next five years after the Ghana Revenue Authority waived the company’s bill for back taxes worth approximately $773m.
The tax claim was issued after the authority audited the company for the years 2014 to 2018, discovering that it had under-declared revenue by around 30%. The investment comes at a difficult time for Ghana, as the country is experiencing its worst economic crisis in a generation, mainly due to capital outflows, debt service, and currency depreciation.
Despite the challenges, MTN’s Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Mupita, has declared the company’s commitment to investing in Ghana.
“Although the macroeconomic conditions are very challenging in the near term, we are focused on the medium and long term, and we are seeing growth,” said Mupita in a statement.
MTN plans to utilize the investment in 5G technology, which it believes will stimulate faster growth across sectors. Ghana is one of the largest economies in Africa, and the investment is an encouraging sign of continued foreign investment and commitment to the country’s growth.
In the meantime, Ghana’s consumer inflation decreased marginally to 53.6% year-on-year in January from the previous month’s more than two-decade high of 54.1%.