Richard Gilles Mulihano, a staff member of MTN Rwanda, last month emerged the overall winner of the Star Performance category under the MTN Group’s Y’ello Stars programme.

Held annually, the competition aims at recognising and rewarding talented and hard working employees from its 21 operations in Africa and the Middle East.

The award is worth $15,000 in cash prize for excellent performance.

Y’ello Stars allows employees to nominate fellow staff members, either as individuals or teams, who they believe have excelled in the categories of Star Performance; Knowledge Share (knowledge transfer); Customer Service; and Living the MTN Values of Can Do, Leadership, Relationships, Innovation and Integrity.

"This is something we are proud of as a Company. It is of great importance to us as it shows that we are performing well,” Michel Nkulikiyimana, MTN Rwanda’s Remuneration and Benefits Manager told The New Times yesterday.

Anyone within the MTN Group can nominate a Y’ello Star and the person they nominate does not necessarily have to be within their department but from anywhere within the organisation.

Nominations are made via SMS or intranet and staff are recognised and rewarded monthly and quarterly.

The winners in these two stages compete at the annual gala event, where the prestigious Group CEO Award is also conferred.

Over and above the awards, winning candidates are invited to the annual MTN Group Leadership Conference.

For each of the competing countries, there was a maximum of four winners, each of whom was given a choice of either receiving a cash prize or learning tools to the tune of US$15,000.

Mulihano could not be reached for comment as he is currently on a working trip in South Africa.

The ceremony took place in South Africa’s capital Johannesburg on April 23 at the Headquarters of MTN Group.

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