Press Releases

MTN’s Y’elloStars descended on South Africa

The MTN Group hosted staff from across its 21 operations in Africa and the Middle East at the annual Y’elloStars Gala Evening held at the StellaFusion Chamber, Melrose Arch, Johannesburg on 23 April 2008.

The Y’elloStars event, now in its fourth year, is a gala event giving recognition to employees who have been nominated by their peers for 2007. The winners are recognised by the MTN Group Chairman, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, and the Group President and CEO, Mr Phuthuma Nhleko. They are also given the opportunity to participate in key MTN events such as the annual Group Leadership Conference.

The winners at the MTN Annual Y’elloStars Annual Gala Evening were: Customer Service Point Amarat Team represented by Team Leader Hatim Kahin, MTN Sudan for Customer Satisfaction; Robert Nell, Service Centre Consultant, MTN South Africa in the Star Performance category; Fifi J Rurangwa, Corporate Sales Manager, MTN Rwanda for portraying the MTN Values and Brian Lwetutte, Principal Engineer Fixed Core and Data Networks, MTN Uganda in the Knowledge Share category.

Nominations of high performing staff were made via sms and the intranet every month and every quarter. The winners from the monthly and quarterly nominations processes then competed at a regional level and these finalists then competed at the annual gala event, where the prestigious Group awards were conferred.

A special CEO Achievement Award was given to the teams from MTN Group and MTN Cameroon who were recognised for their work related to the Kenya Airways crash in which valued employees were lost in 2007. The MTN Irancell team was given the CEO award for their rapid network roll out and substantial subscriber growth which today stands at more than 9 million.

MTN Group Executive: Human Resources, Mr Paul Norman said; “As a start-up company 14 years ago, the MTN Group has grown into a multinational organisation represented in 21 countries with over 16 000 employees, over 40 nationalities and many different languages. This awards evening demonstrates the success the MTN Group has achieved in creating a culture of innovation, performance excellence, recognition and reward.

“The purpose of the Y’elloStars programme is to show appreciation to those who have gone the ‘extra mile’ and to enhance the Can-Do culture of MTN which ultimately benefits the customer. These winners have demonstrated their dedication to excellence and embody the MTN values (Relationship, Can-Do, Leadership, Integrity, Innovation) and qualities that are required to continually drive the vision of the MTN Group.

“The Y’elloStars awards is an opportunity to learn, recognise and celebrate the achievements of our peers in meeting and exceeding management, customer and employee satisfaction,” he concluded.