Farroukh’s resignation comes amid labour union-led strikes led by the country's Communication Workers Union (CWU) over wages and bonuses. The operator's employees have been on strike since May 2015.
“This was a difficult decision to take for Ahmad, but unavoidable due to personal and family reasons,” said MTN group president and CEO Sifiso Dabengwa.
Farroukh replaced former MTN South Africa CEO Zunaid Bulbulia in August 2014. The company said then that the appointment of Farroukh as its South Africa unit’s CEO was in line with MTN's strategy to regularly rotate key talent within the business.
Farroukh joined MTN in 2006 with the acquisition of Investcom and was previously CEO of MTN Nigeria and MTN Ghana.