Govt-Telenor Agreement Illegal?
A time bomb with very huge cost in terms of the political direction of this fragile democracy, is ticking under the operations of Ghana Telecom which, if not removed with the speed and accuracy of UN weapons of mass destruction experts, could explode and scatter all that is positive about the Administration of John Kufuor and his Zero Tolerance for Corruption crusade.
?Public Agenda? can report authoritatively that the Minister of Communications and Technology Felix Owusu-Agyepong is installing Telenor, a Norwegian management consultants to take charge of Ghana Telecom at a cost in monetary terms nearly two times the wages of the entire work force of the company.
Under the contract agreement already packed and waiting for the respective signatures of the Minister and Telenor bosses, the Norwegian company would be paid a minimum of $150,000 per month. This works out at about $1.8m per annum.
The wages and other remuneration of the entire Telecom work force of 3,900 come about $1m per annum, according to the figure sighted by ?Public Agenda? at the head office of Ghana Telecom.
In other words, Telenor fat cats will take nearly two times the income of the entire work force of Ghana Telecom. ?The entire management fee shall be four (4) percent (before interest and tax) so however, that the actual fee payable should not be below US$150,000 per month,? said Appendix One of the contractual agreement.
Usually reliable sources at Ghana Telecom told ?Agenda? that in addition to this windfall, Telenor fat cats are to be provided with free accommodation with swimming pools in first class suburb in Accra. They are also to have free cars and unlimited supply of fuel charged to the tax payer.
Under the agreement, Telenor are not bringing in engineering expertise, neither are they bringing in foreign cash to improve the operations of Ghana Telecom, which reverted to state control after Government decided not to renew the contract under which the management of Telekom Malaysia managed Ghana Telecom with only 30 per cent share in the company.
Govt-Telenor Agreement Illegal?
(by JoyOnline) Representatives of Norwegian firm Telenor Management Partners (TMP) are expected to take over managerial responsibility for Ghana Telecom today. Oystein Bjorge will take over from acting Managing Director, Philip Owusu. TMP, described as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Telenor Group has a three-year management consultancy agreement with government. The planned takeover by the Norwegians raises several legal issues.Among others, Ghana Telecom?s regulation demands that the managing director must be a board member, and more importantly the right to make that appointment is vested in the Class B shareholder - GCOM.
As has been consistently reported by Joy FM over the months, the discussions and fallouts on the government- Telenor agreement have never been clear. First it was a search for a strategic investor with the capacity to provide 400,000 fixed lines in two- three years.
That led to the selection of Telenor of Norway as the winner of the bid out of a dozen plus others. Minister for Communications Felix Owusu Adjepong continued to refer to them as strategic investors, implying a group that is coming with the required funds to complete the assignment of deploying 400,000 lines.
It was not until Joy FM revealed that the MOU signed with the Norwegians was aimed towards a management consultancy that the description change. Even then, Minister Owusu Adjepong said on Joy FM?s Frontpage programme that the Norwegians were being modest about their involvement.
With the completion of the business plan and announcement of the signing of the contract, it turned out that the agreement was with Telenor Management Partners, described as a subsidiary of the main Telenor.
The absence of the Class B shareholder GCOM, controlled by Telekom Malaysia in the selection of a manager for the company, according to legal experts raises many disturbing legal issues. Joy FM has credible information that the Norwegians will be taking over as managing directors on Monday, a move that is against the Companies? code and Ghana Telecom regulations.
As a non-member of the GT board, the Telenor nominee as MD cannot be appointed to the position. It will not only be against the company regulations, but also a violation of the rights of GCOM. According to the existing stock purchase agreement between government and GCOM, the appointment of a managing director is the sole right of the Class B shareholder.
That agreement can only be declared null and void when government buys off the consortium?s 30 percent shares. Company officials will not comment on these issues, but sources say government intends to disregard the rights of the 30% shareholder.
It also intends to later replace one of its six members on the board with the Norwegian. Until that is done, government is hoping to play a semantic game by designating the Norwegian as an acting chief executive instead of managing director.
A board member and current acting managing director, Philip Owusu has confirmed the use of this designation. He told Joy FM that there is nothing wrong with appointing a chief executive.
Mr. Owusu also disclosed that the government - Telenor agreement requires the management consultants to nominate the managing director for appointment by the government. That is also illegal, as the government cannot under the laws appoint, neither does the law support a nomination. Meanwhile Joy FM has information that the new management consultants will dispense off top Ghanaian personnel above 52 years.
The plan according to sources close to the ministry is to allow the implementation of parts of the agreement that gives off the positions of Chief Finance Officer, Chief Technical Officer and other such positions to the Norwegians.
Govt-Telenor Agreement Illegal?
A time bomb with very huge cost in terms of the political direction of this fragile democracy, is ticking under the operations of Ghana Telecom which, if not removed with the speed and accuracy of UN weapons of mass destruction experts, could explode and scatter all that is positive about the Administration of John Kufuor and his Zero Tolerance for Corruption crusade.
?Public Agenda? can report authoritatively that the Minister of Communications and Technology Felix Owusu-Agyepong is installing Telenor, a Norwegian management consultants to take charge of Ghana Telecom at a cost in monetary terms nearly two times the wages of the entire work force of the company.
Under the contract agreement already packed and waiting for the respective signatures of the Minister and Telenor bosses, the Norwegian company would be paid a minimum of $150,000 per month. This works out at about $1.8m per annum.
The wages and other remuneration of the entire Telecom work force of 3,900 come about $1m per annum, according to the figure sighted by ?Public Agenda? at the head office of Ghana Telecom.
In other words, Telenor fat cats will take nearly two times the income of the entire work force of Ghana Telecom. ?The entire management fee shall be four (4) percent (before interest and tax) so however, that the actual fee payable should not be below US$150,000 per month,? said Appendix One of the contractual agreement.
Usually reliable sources at Ghana Telecom told ?Agenda? that in addition to this windfall, Telenor fat cats are to be provided with free accommodation with swimming pools in first class suburb in Accra. They are also to have free cars and unlimited supply of fuel charged to the tax payer.
Under the agreement, Telenor are not bringing in engineering expertise, neither are they bringing in foreign cash to improve the operations of Ghana Telecom, which reverted to state control after Government decided not to renew the contract under which the management of Telekom Malaysia managed Ghana Telecom with only 30 per cent share in the company.
Govt-Telenor Agreement Illegal?
(by JoyOnline) Representatives of Norwegian firm Telenor Management Partners (TMP) are expected to take over managerial responsibility for Ghana Telecom today. Oystein Bjorge will take over from acting Managing Director, Philip Owusu. TMP, described as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Telenor Group has a three-year management consultancy agreement with government. The planned takeover by the Norwegians raises several legal issues.Among others, Ghana Telecom?s regulation demands that the managing director must be a board member, and more importantly the right to make that appointment is vested in the Class B shareholder - GCOM.
As has been consistently reported by Joy FM over the months, the discussions and fallouts on the government- Telenor agreement have never been clear. First it was a search for a strategic investor with the capacity to provide 400,000 fixed lines in two- three years.
That led to the selection of Telenor of Norway as the winner of the bid out of a dozen plus others. Minister for Communications Felix Owusu Adjepong continued to refer to them as strategic investors, implying a group that is coming with the required funds to complete the assignment of deploying 400,000 lines.
It was not until Joy FM revealed that the MOU signed with the Norwegians was aimed towards a management consultancy that the description change. Even then, Minister Owusu Adjepong said on Joy FM?s Frontpage programme that the Norwegians were being modest about their involvement.
With the completion of the business plan and announcement of the signing of the contract, it turned out that the agreement was with Telenor Management Partners, described as a subsidiary of the main Telenor.
The absence of the Class B shareholder GCOM, controlled by Telekom Malaysia in the selection of a manager for the company, according to legal experts raises many disturbing legal issues. Joy FM has credible information that the Norwegians will be taking over as managing directors on Monday, a move that is against the Companies? code and Ghana Telecom regulations.
As a non-member of the GT board, the Telenor nominee as MD cannot be appointed to the position. It will not only be against the company regulations, but also a violation of the rights of GCOM. According to the existing stock purchase agreement between government and GCOM, the appointment of a managing director is the sole right of the Class B shareholder.
That agreement can only be declared null and void when government buys off the consortium?s 30 percent shares. Company officials will not comment on these issues, but sources say government intends to disregard the rights of the 30% shareholder.
It also intends to later replace one of its six members on the board with the Norwegian. Until that is done, government is hoping to play a semantic game by designating the Norwegian as an acting chief executive instead of managing director.
A board member and current acting managing director, Philip Owusu has confirmed the use of this designation. He told Joy FM that there is nothing wrong with appointing a chief executive.
Mr. Owusu also disclosed that the government - Telenor agreement requires the management consultants to nominate the managing director for appointment by the government. That is also illegal, as the government cannot under the laws appoint, neither does the law support a nomination. Meanwhile Joy FM has information that the new management consultants will dispense off top Ghanaian personnel above 52 years.
The plan according to sources close to the ministry is to allow the implementation of parts of the agreement that gives off the positions of Chief Finance Officer, Chief Technical Officer and other such positions to the Norwegians.
