THE MINISTER for Communication and Technology, Mr. Felix Owusu-Adjepong, has stated that the government did not terminate the appointment of the former Managing Director of Ghana Telecom (GT), Mr. Abdul, but his term of office ended and was not renewed.
He also said that the government has no interest interfering in the affairs of Ghana Telecom in that it is not the government that is running GT but all what the government did was to facilitate the appointment of the board of directors.
The minister said this at a press conference in Accra yesterday.
He said that GT is now being run by a nine-member board of directors which is satisfied with the arrangements being made to ensure that there is leadership at GT. "I don't think Government would want to dabble beyond what it is supposed to do," he added.
He declared that it is the responsibility of the board to appoint a managing director and not the government and whatever the board is doing is entirely within the limits of the laws of Ghana.
On the value of GT, he said that the Malaysians had appointed ANEZ to revalue GT while the government had also appointed Price Water House Coopers but the final value of the company is yet to be computed.
He denied that the Malaysians are demanding $200 million for their stake in GT. Mr. Agyepong disclosed that the National Communications Authority (NCA) is working on a final report on the voice over IP and government is yet to take a decision on that later.
On the issue of the multiple use of National Communication Transmission Infrastructure, he announced that the government is trying to determine which items are backbone items and that the government needs to be careful because they are technical.
Touching on the procedure of issuance of authorisation licences for telephone operators, he said that the government would be in a better position to take decision on the matter when the outcome of the communication infrastructure advisory committee report is ready because most of the new entrants would rely on the existing infrastructure.
He urged investors to remain calm because his ministry wants to do things in a systematic manner and that NCA is studying how many operators they need to license.
The minister said that government is not too anxious to demand penalties against GT and Westel for not meeting targets they were supposed to because Government believes that in such matters, one must weigh it against the ability to deliver services against collecting fines that will cripple the industry.
The acting managing director of the NCA, Major Tandoh, stated that his organisation is doing its best to ensure a sustainable competition among operators.
This, he said, would ensure best value for money, good quality of services and choice for the customers. He also reiterated that the NCA is trying to resolve the interconnectivity problem in the industry.
