Ferreira quits MTC Namibia

AFTER one year in charge, the Managing Director of MTC Namibia, Jose Antonio Ferreira, yesterday announced his resignation from the cellular phone company with immediate effect.

Ferreira told a press conference held at the MTC Headquarters in Windhoek that he would, however, still be at the helm until September 17 when the MTC board is expected to announce his successor. Ferreira cited personal reasons as the cause of his sudden departure.He said he would like to be close to his family in Portugal and would continue working for Portugal Telecom while based in his home country.Ferreira added that to date, he had spent 10 years working in Africa, and felt it was time to return to his roots.Ferreira, a Portuguese national, was seconded to MTC last year when Portugal Telecom acquired a 34 per cent stake in the local company for an unprecedented N$1 billion.Before joining MTC, Ferreira – an expert in both the fixed-line and mobile telecommunications areas – was the CEO at Mascom Wireless in Botswana for four years.”After one year of hard and challenging work, the time has come to leave MTC and Namibia.Everything in life comes to an end.It is now time to go back to Portugal and have the opportunity to spend more time with my daughters, family and friends.I take with me all the good memories of working with MTC and the challenges that we have faced as a team,” he said.As a result of the current MTC shareholding, Portugal Telecom also holds the management contract, which allows it to appoint two senior managers.Portugal Telecom has presence in a number of African countries which include Angola, Mozambique, Kenya, Morocco, Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde.The balance of 66 per cent of MTC is owned by the Government through Namibia Post and Telecom Holdings Ltd (NPTH).Ferreira cited personal reasons as the cause of his sudden departure.He said he would like to be close to his family in Portugal and would continue working for Portugal Telecom while based in his home country.Ferreira added that to date, he had spent 10 years working in Africa, and felt it was time to return to his roots.Ferreira, a Portuguese national, was seconded to MTC last year when Portugal Telecom acquired a 34 per cent stake in the local company for an unprecedented N$1 billion.Before joining MTC, Ferreira – an expert in both the fixed-line and mobile telecommunications areas – was the CEO at Mascom Wireless in Botswana for four years.”After one year of hard and challenging work, the time has come to leave MTC and Namibia.Everything in life comes to an end.It is now time to go back to Portugal and have the opportunity to spend more time with my daughters, family and friends.I take with me all the good memories of working with MTC and the challenges that we have faced as a team,” he said.As a result of the current MTC shareholding, Portugal Telecom also holds the management contract, which allows it to appoint two senior managers.Portugal Telecom has presence in a number of African countries which include Angola, Mozambique, Kenya, Morocco, Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde.The balance of 66 per cent of MTC is owned by the Government through Namibia Post and Telecom Holdings Ltd (NPTH).