Ghana Telecom operators urged to charge reasonable rates

Bolgatanga, Jan. 9, GNA- Mr. Mahami Salifu, Upper East Regional Minister, on Friday urged communication centres operating in the Bolgatanga municipality to review their high service charges, which are detrimental to doing business.

He said it has been observed that some operators in the municipality have exploited the recent tariff adjustment of the Ghana Telecom (GT) fixed lines to cheat their clients.

The Regional Minister was addressing communication centre operators at a meeting organised by the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), following complaints that the activities of the operators impacted negatively on the cost of doing business in the area.

He said while the government acknowledges the vital role the private sector as an engine of growth, the sector is also expected to live up to expectation in facilitating a more buoyant economy.

Mr Salifu told the operators that access to communication services was an important ingredient to the rapid development of all sectors of the economy, reminding them that this places an added responsibility on them to deliver as expected.

Chairman of the Operators Association, Mr Albert Ayeebo, said they would go out of business if they were compelled to reduce their fees because of the high overhead expenses.

He said they also take into consideration the cost of rent, electricity, income tax, VAT, wages for their employees and other incidental expenses before arriving at the charges.

He called on GT to streamline its billing system by issuing itemized bills that would enable the members to reconcile actual consumption against bills.

The Area Manager of GT, Alhaji Ibrahim Sumani, gave the assurance that by June this year, the region would be linked to a digital telephone system to improve telecommunication services and also to make it possible for the company to issue itemized bills. MISSION