Govt wants a local to replace Bob Collymore at Safaricom

Kenya wants the next chief executive of Safaricom to be a local after Bob Collymore steps down in August because of health reasons.

Reuters reported on Monday that a row has erupted at the giant telco after the Kenyan government insisted that Mr Collymore should be succeeded by a Kenyan, delaying the announcement of his replacement.

Mr Collymore took a medical leave in 2017 to fight cancer and it is understood that he wants to exit the firm.

Safaricom’s stronghold on Kenya’s economy has been cemented by its mobile money platform M-Pesa, that has now been classified as a risk to the economy if it collapses.

The firm, listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), has more than 30 million customers and generates over Sh200 billion in revenues every year.

The firm has become critical in fighting crime as well as helping police with investigations given its reach.

Choosing a chief executive at Safaricom has always remained the preserve of Britain’s Vodafone which was the major shareholder in the firm until 2017.

It transferred this powers to South Africa’s Vodacom after a share swap in 2017, which saw it remain with a 5 per cent stake, while the South African firm ended up with a 35 per cent stake.

Sources familiar with goings-on at the Safaricom boardroom told the Nation that the Kenyan government through the Treasury approved the 2017 share swap to South Africa’s Vodacom on condition that they will be allowed to have a say in the appointment of the man or woman who takes over the corner office at the telco.

The Kenyan government also has 35 per cent share, similar to what South Africa’s Vodacom has, and without merging the shareholding, they have equal shareholder strength.