MTN says resolves fee dispute with Guinea

Mobile operator MTN said on Sunday it had resolved a fee row with the government of Guinea that had seen the West African country seize its assets there.

“The dispute has been resolved. This is a matter between us and the government and we can’t give details,” an MTN spokesperson told Reuters.

Guinea’s government had seized assets belonging to MTN in the row over payment of a €15-million fee.

A decree signed by Guinea President Alpha Conde said the government had decided to requisition all personnel, equipment, facilities and assets of the company from May 2, until the dispute is settled.

Guinean authorities had also warned MTN that it would suspend the operator’s licence if a row over payments due to the government after MTN’s 2007 acquisition of a local operator were not resolved by April 29.

MTN, the West African nation’s leading mobile operator with two-million subscribers, operates under the Areeba brand in Guinea.—Reuters