Why was MTN's Social and Ethics Committee only established two years after the crackdown on political opposition in Iran?
The response by Mr Sifiso Dabengwa, Chief Executive Officer of the MTN Group (Ltd), to my request for information concerning alleged human rights violations raises more questions than it answers on the company's business practices in Iran.
The fact is the MTN Group (Ltd) has not produced any evidence that the company took action to deal with alleged human rights violations in Iran. In fact, the response reveals that the company's Social and Ethics Committee, which was supposed to deal with ethical dilemmas relating to possible human rights violations, was only established two years after the crackdown on the political opposition in Iran.
Last month I wrote to Mr Dabengwa, requesting him to provide me with the following information:
- The name of the chairperson/s of the MTN Group (Ltd) Social and Ethics Committee of every year between 2003 and 2012;
- the names of all persons who served on the MTN Group (Ltd) Social and Ethics Committee of every year between 2003 and 2012;
- the number of times that the MTN Group (Ltd) Social and Ethics Committee met to discuss issues relating to Iran of every year between 2003 and 2012; and
- a summary of the recommendations made by the MTN Group (Ltd) Social and Ethics Committee on issues relating to Iran of every year between 2003 and 2012.
In addition, I submitted a request, in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (No. 2 of 2000), for the following: