Senegal Arrest Former Head of Regulator Over Corruption

The authorities in Senegal have arrested the former head of the national telecoms watchdog, Daniel Goumala Seck, on suspicion that he stole funds from the award of a telecoms operating licence to Sudan’s Sudatel, Reuters reports Seck’s legal representative as saying.

The one-time boss of the Agence de Regulation des Telecommunications et des Postes(ARTP) is accused of having siphoned off 2% of the USD200 million received in 2007 for himself and other unnamed ARTP officials, rather than use the funding to expand the watchdog’s operations.

Seck has yet to be charged and no word is given on whether or not it will jeopardise Sudatel’s position at all. The newcomer launched Senegal’s third mobile network last year but has so far failed to make any inroads in a market dominated by France Telecom-backed Orange Senegal with 4.61 million users, or 67% of the sector, at end-2009. Tigo Senegal, a unit of Millicom International Cellular, had 2.09 million users at the same date while Sudatel’s Expresso operation had 203,067.

Maroc Telecom Wins Mali's Sotelma Bid

Maroc Telecom has agreed to acquire 51 percent of the Mali national operator Sotelma from the local government. The Mali government declared the Moroccan operator the provisional winner of the auction, reports news agency APA, citing a statement from Maroc Telecom.

Maroc Telecom reportedly offered EUR 252 million for the controlling stake in Sotelmea, beating offers from Sudatel and Portugal Telecom. The Mali government will maintain a 20 percent stake in Sotelma. 

Mali Still Talking to Maroc Telecom Over Sotelma Sale

The government of Mali is still in talks to sell a majority stake in national operator Sotelma to Maroc Telecom, reports local daily L'Essor. Maroc Telecom presented its bid for a 51 percent stake in January.

The Moroccan operator, already active in several African countries, offered EUR 252 million, beating bids of EUR 111 million from Sudatel and EUR 80 million from Portugal Telecom, according to the paper.

The government has given itself three months to negotiate with Maroc Telecom, a communications ministry official told the paper. Two weeks ago a delegation from the Moroccan operator visited the country to continue the negotiations.

The ministry official said the government is hoping for an improvement in Maroc Telecom's offer, while also looking to secure certain guarantees on personnel and management after the privatisation. The government has already negotiated a social plan at Sotelma for 610 voluntary redundancies, out of total staff of 1,382.