To resolve the dispute over ownership of the Airtel Tanzania unit and the Tanzanian government Bharti Airtel has agreed to pay $26 million over five years. The deal was announced byTanzania’s Minister for foreign affairs and east Africa cooperation, Palamagamba Kabudi. Bharti Airtel also cancelled $407 million of debt owed to it by Airtel Tanzania as part of the settlement. In 2017, President John Magufuli announced that Airtel Tanzania was fully owned by state-run Tanzania Telecommunications Company Ltd (TTCL) accusing that TTCL had been cheated out of its shares through an unfair privatisation process. Bharti Airtel refuted the claim, saying it all regulatory approvals were taken when it acquired a 60% stake in the firm. Both the sides came to a settlement after prolonged negotiations in January and signed an agreement to increase the Tanzanian government’s stake in the company from 40% to 49%.In a statement, Sunil Bharti Mittal Bharti Airtel Executive Chairman said he hoped that the deal would “give a fresh start to the company.”
