There has been speculations around the tenure of Safaricom’s CEO Peter Ndegwa. He came out recently to state that he is not bound to a 3-year contract since he is not a foreigner. Thus, he wasn’t offered the same terms as the two previous gentlemen who were all foreigners.
The 3-year contract tenure was set for the last 2 CEOs of the profitable telco.
During the release of Safaricom’s financial report for the financial year 2023, the question was raised again. In his response, Adil Khawaja, Chairman, of Safaricom PLC, stated that all that speculation was unnecessary. .
Pointing a finger at the Kenyans on Twitter (KOT), he referred to the source of the speculations as “Twitter Warriors” and reiterated that there is no cause for alarm.
He went on to state that Mr. Ndegwa has obligations to fulfil for the financial year 24 and that is the current focus. He reminded the public that the senior management team are still there. Their current focus is pushing each other to deliver on their strategy.
The chairman’s statement was in line with what Peter Ndegwa had stated in an earlier interview, saying his tenure is dependent on deliverables.
On his part, CEO Ndegwa was happy that the chairman was present to address the contract situation. The news and backing would certainly be welcomed by Safaricom investors.
Safaricom is embarking in a number of strategic projects that are aimed at diversifying its revenue stream. Only recently, we have witnessed their increased partnership with Counties through the myCounty App.
They have also invested heavily in Ethiopia as they believe it will be a profitable venture. As part of the event, the CEO announced they have recently acquired licencing to roll out Mobile financial services. Safaricom in Ethiopia acquired the Mpesa license at the cost of USD 150 Million.
Given their strategic investments, a power vacuum would not be good at this particular time.
