CPP Maintains Offensive Against GT Sale

The CPP has continued its opposition to the sale of 70% shares in Ghana Telecom (GT) Dr Nii Moi Thompson the CPP Spokesperson on Economics and Finance responding to an overwhelming public support for his radio interview on the proposed GT sale wrote that the planned deal “includes not just GT but the three fibre optics backbones built by the people of Ghana, including the one built by VRA and taken forcibly by the government.

He quoted Paragraph 4, Schedule 16 of the proposed contract which says :... "all such Fibre Permits shall remain in full force and effect for a period of not less than 999 [nine-hundred and ninety-nine] years from closing without requiring any further payment, contribution or other form of consideration from the Enlarged GT Group or the Purchaser." – this is the agreement the NPP is about to endorse in Parliament, Dr Thompson wrote and asked “ a government that gives away for pittance permits currently worth billions of dollars for nearly 1,000 years! , Is this a government with vision for Ghana?.

The CPP Spokesperson wrote further that “We are talking about our self-worth and our national assets” and asked Ghanaians to speak up loudly on the issue. The party’s Communications Directorate in Accra had on the 10th July, 2008, urged all well-meaning Ghanaians to oppose the NPP government’s impending sale of the 70.0% shares in GT.

The CPP recalled that when the NPP was in opposition, it “repeatedly criticised the government of the day for violating one of the cardinal principles of public finance and selling state assets to support its budgets.

The CPP said “that argument still stands today. Revenue from asset sales represents one-off sources of financing that provides only temporary financial relief and thus is neither sustainable nor reliable. We call upon the government, therefore, to find more sustainable sources of revenue, such as compelling mining companies to pay taxes on imported equipment – the same way small-and-medium scale Ghanaian-owned businesses are required to pay taxes on such imports. “

The Party’s position on the sale is that:

(1) It lacks economic merit and will, in the long run, cost the state far more than the paltry US$900 million it is receiving for the sale, and

(2) The notion that only foreigners can effectively manage our affairs is offensive to our dignity as human beings and undermines the CPP’s cherished belief that “The Blackman is capable of managing his own affairs.”

The CPP had said that a casual look at GT shows that the company is capable of generating profits far in excess of its sale price, if only we would emplace proper management that is free of political interference and is publicly accountable to Ghanaians. That currently, no such system exists and the company’s politically induced problems are then packaged as evidence of Ghanaians’ inherent inability to manage their own affairs. The failure of the Malaysians and Norwegians to turn GT’s fortunes around shows that mere transfer of ownership or management to foreigners will not solve GT’s or Ghana’s problems. That it is time to look within ourselves.

The CPP Statement had noted that currently, Ghana Telecom owns One-Touch mobile services, has near monopoly over fixed lines, dominates broadband services, and has a major share of the internet backbone, SAT-3. That GT can earn US$2.2 billion per year, or US$11.0 billion in five years, far more than the US$500.0 million investment being promised by Vodafone.

The CPP also says “Experience teaches us that “sweet heart” promises by foreign investors after buying national assets are seldom honoured. AngloGold’s lavish promises to invest in deep-shaft mining in Obuasi, for example, are yet to materialise, five years after they bought Ashanti Goldfields; the Czech “strategic investor” who bought the Kumasi Shoe Factory did not only fail to invest in it but turned around and rented out the premises to local businesses and other clients, including the government of Ghana! To our shame, the government is now contemplating buying back the factory and giving it to the Kumasi Shoemakers Association. Belatedly, we discover the ability of Ghanaians to manage their own affairs.

The Party’s statement emphasized that the CPP does not oppose the participation of foreign investors in Ghana ’s economy, that the Party believes that foreign investors have a role to play in Ghana’s development, alongside their Ghanaian counterparts. “we prefer that such investors add to our productive capacity and not take undue advantage of existing capacity developed by Ghanaians” the party said.

Communications Directorate – www.cppuk.org info@cppuk.org cppyouth@gmail.com