Customers also complained
of recent rate hikes introduced by Vivacell after the devaluation of the South
Sudanese pound.
Customer Adraako Helen
said, “Too slow and bundles has express speed of getting used without being
used.” Dan Njuguna commented, “Do people still use vivacell data?? I quit that
weeks ago when I realized it was the slowest and most expensive!”
Ties to Lebanese company,
SPLM
Vivacell is majority owned
by Lebanon's Fattouch Investment Group. A minority stake is held by the ruling
Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), whose investment in the company
predates the independence of South Sudan.
News reports from 2009
revealed that SPLM owned up to 25% of Vivacell through Wawat Securities Limited.
Additional information about the party's investment was disclosed in a leaked
investigation report that President Salva Kiir had ordered the party undertake
in 2013 against its former secretary-general Pagan Amum.
The investigation report
described Wawat Securities as an “investment arm” of SPLM, explaining that Wawat
took 25% of the shares in Vivacell and Fattouche Investments Group Holdings Ltd
took 75%, according to a framework agreement between the two
parties.
However, the
investigation report was unclear about the percentage of Vivacell shares
currently owned by SPLM, referring to other evidence indicating the SPLM's
holding in Vivacell may actually be significantly smaller than 25%. The report
noted also that SPLM leased land to Vivacell at a “symbolic rate” close to 0
pounds per square meter.
