Phone not working as they said it would

I joined MTN when they first opened, so have been with them for years. 2 years ago I upgraded my phone (n1 city Cape Town) and they recommended Huawei NOVA Y9a. This seemed a great phone and although you cannot have google play running they said there would be no problem. I have now gone back to my old phone (Huawei Y9 Prime 2019) as I cannot use any programs I have previously. They just say sorry it a 3 year contract you must wait for another 1.5 years to change. No interest in trying to help.