Telenor?s selection was transparent -Minister

The Minister of Communications and Technology, Mr. Felix Owusu Adjapong, has dismissed claims by the Minority in Parliament that the selection of Messrs Telenor of Norway, the new strategic investors in the Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited (GT), was shrouded in secrecy.

He said the bid was opened to all firms advertised in the international media last April and vetted by a competent team, which selected Messrs Telenor. Mr. Owusu Adjapong gave the explanation in an interview in Accra on Monday after Mr. Joseph K. Okyere, Managing Director of Antartic Contract Works Limited, a construction firm, presented a cheque for ?7.2 million to the minister for the construction of a community library at Akyem Swedru.


The donation was in response to an appeal made by Mr. Owusu Adjapong, who is also the Member of Parliament for the area, to public-spirited organisations to construct a community library in the town to revive the falling standards of education. The minister said so far GHACEM has donated 100 bags of cement while an architect is voluntarily drawing the plan and urged other individuals and organisations to emulate the good examples of such companies.


Explaining further, Mr. Owusu-Adjapong said 13 companies submitted bids for investments in GT and the bid of Telenor won and wondered why the Minority can make such a statement ?which takes us back in development.? He noted that the Telenor issue has never been shrouded in secrecy, adding that ?it has been done in such a transparent manner that should not elicit such negative comments.?

On the dissolution of the boards of GT, Mr. Owusu-Adjapong said when the NPP assumed office; it realized that the government, which is the biggest shareholder in GT, had only three members on the board while the Malaysians bad four. He explained that somewhere along the line two of the government nominees resigned but they were not replaced, adding ?we rather re-negotiated and increased the number to six to reflect the government?s stake in the company.?


He said the on-going negotiations between the government and Messrs Telenor regarding the management services agreement for the GT will be completed this month. According to Mr. Owusu-Adjapong, this will pave the way for the Norwegian company to implement the business plan as soon as practicable. He disclosed that the Board of Directors of the GT has appointed an acting chief executive to run the company after the dissolution of the Interim Management Committee (IMC).


Mr. Owusu-Adjapong said a definite programme to ensure that telephone lines are installed in every part of the country is also being prepared. The policy of government, he said, is to ensure that Ghanaians enjoy effective, efficient and uninterrupted telecommunication services. He stated that there are no problems in the administration of the GT and expressed optimism that the new management will achieve set targets.