MTN Group Johannesburg, on Wednesday, February 15 disclosed that it will invest $1 billion in Ghana over the next five years after the GRA exempted its Ghanaian unit from tax claims worth about $773 million.

The tax claim was initially issued earlier this year after the revenue authority audited MTN Ghana for the years 2014 to 2018 and inferred that it under declared its revenue by about 30% during the period.

The incident sparked a diplomatic reaction by the South African foreign minister.

However after discussions, the GRA has agreed to scrap off the back taxes on the condition that MTN South Africa will invest $1 bln in Ghana's economy.

MTN Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said the company was committed to investing in Ghana despite short-term headwinds.

"To be sure, macro-economic conditions are very challenging in the near term. That said we are focused on the medium and long term and we are seeing growth," he said in a statement.

"MTN intends to invest the amount in 5G technology which it believes would spur faster growth across sectors," he stated.

One of the largest economies in Africa, Ghana is reckoning with its worst economic crisis in a generation as capital outflows, a crushing debt-service burden and rapid currency depreciation wreak havoc on government and household finances.

Its consumer inflation slowed slightly to 53.6% year-on-year in January from a more than two-decade high of 54.1% in the previous month, data showed earlier on Wednesday.