Safaricom explains why it blocked Airtel-Telkom intended merger ▷ Kenya News

- Safaricom acting CEO claims Telkom and Airtel owe the company more than KSh 1.2 billion

- The telecommunications company also raised concerns over imbalance of the frequencies allocation.

- With the Telkom-Airtel merger all but done, Safaricom says it will only welcome the move when their concerns are addressed by industry regulator Communication Authority of Kenya

Telecommunications powerhouse Safaricom has come out to strongly refute claims that they are against the impending merger between rivals Airtel and Telkom.

Safaricom was forced into a response after allegedly being faulted by its rivals of frustrating efforts to merge.

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Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph claims Telkom and Airtel companies owe them more than KSh 1.2 billion Photo: TUKO
Source: UGC

A statement from acting CEO Michael Joseph released on Wednesday, September 4 accused the two companies of owing Safaricom over KSh 1.2 billion.

Joseph wants the companies to pay the alleged dues before proceeding with the merger.

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“The first is the debt owed by the two operators, amounting to KES 1,297,448,468.88, incurred for the provision of various services including interconnection, co-location and fibre services. This debt is due and payable, based on the agreement to provide services entered into with the two entities as distinct operators. Our expectation is that the payment obligations should be settled in full before the transfer of business is effected,” the statement read.

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Safaricom also took issue with spectrum as it claimed the merger of the two rivals would result in a heavy imbalance in the bandwidth.

If the statement is anything to go by, a deal was reached in 2016 which denied it ability to increase its spectrum to allow for fair competition.

The imbalance was reportedly supposed to be agreed and an amicable solution arrived at before the merger.

Telkom Kenya Chief Executive Mugo Kibati recently spoke on Safaricom’s concerns where he accused the most popular communications company in the country of being afraid of competition.

Kibati analysed that the over dominance of safaricom led to over-pricing and a stagnant telecoms domain.

Telkom CEO accused Safaricom of being intimidated by competition. Photo: Nation
Source: Facebook

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“We are simply trying to restructure and improve our own business. Is the dominant player wary of competition?” Kibati wondered.

The Safaricom CEO however maintains that the only way they will welcome the merger is if their concerns are attended to and the KSh multi-billion shilling debt cleared.

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