Uganda Telecom (Utl) has re-appointed Mr Mark Shoebridge, who after two months as managing director in 2015 had quit the troubled telecom. File photo
Uganda Telecom (Utl) has re-appointed Mr Mark Shoebridge, who after two months as managing director in 2015 had quit the troubled telecom.
He had been appointed to the position in May last year but quit after two months, leaving for Nigeria where, according to Tonny Achidria, the Utl public relations officer he was working on private obligations.
“[Mr] Shoebridge resigned from Utl in July last year and went to Nigeria for other obligations. He has been reappointed as MD,” Mr Achidria told Daily Monitor in an email.
Asked why Mr Shoebridge had quit and then returned, Mr Achidria remained said: “This is a decision that has been made by the Utl board, who believe he is the right person to steer Utl to retain its competitive position in the market.”
In May last year Mr Shoebridge became the third Utl MD in less than three years (since 2012) having replaced Mr Ali Amir who had earlier quit the company in March 2015.
In a press statement on Friday Mr Achidria said Shoebridge would “effective February 8 take over from Mr Godfrey Kisekka who has been heading the executive management team”.
“I welcome him back to the Utl family. I am personally excited about Utl’s future and look forward to the continued rescue push…,” said Mr Stephen Kaboyo, the Utl chairman in an email statement.
Utl has since 2014 struggled to keep afloat as the company operations continue to be bogged down by an overly stretched purse whose liabilities had in a 2014 audit outstripped assets by more than Shs140b.
Audited books put the company’s liabilities at Shs366b against an assets base of Shs220b.
The company had also failed to pay its licence obligation, forcing Uganda Communications Commission to issue a warning that would lead to the revocation of its (Utl) licence.
Additionally, the company continues to struggle with the payment of inter-connection fees owed to MTN and Airtel.
However, the company last year embarked on a rescue plan that will see a substantial injection of Shs217b in network upgrade and debt repayment. The money will be a phased injection spanning about three years.
69 per cent of Utl is owned by Libyan telecommunications investment arm – LAP Green. The government of Uganda holds a 31 per cent stake.
Before quitting Utl for Nigeria where he worked for Vodacom as executive head of operations, Mr Shoebridge had until 2013 worked at Utl as chief fixed services officer, before he was appointed MD in May 2015.
He is experienced in the telecommunications and IT profession with experience that stretches more than 20 years in diverse business conglomerates.
Commenting on his return Mr Shoebridge said: “I welcome this opportunity to lead the team to deliver continued business development and success of the company.”
osemakula@ug.nationmedia.com
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