Work begins on Ghana Telecom building in Ho

Ho, Nov. 11, GNA - Construction work on a 3.5 billion cedis Volta Regional Head Office of the Ghana Telecom (GT) was started on Monday with a call on the company to expand its services to all parts of the Region.

Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, Volta Regional Minister in his inaugural address said since the Region was the longest in the country, telephone facilities would go a long way to facilitate communication between the northern part and the rest of the country.

"I, therefore, earnestly appeal to Ghana Telecom to do everything possible to push the expansion programme through as early as possible", Mr Owusu-Yeboa said.

Currently, the Regional Office of the GT is located in a rented premises belonging to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and has been facing both staff and customer congestion.

Mr Owusu-Yeboa said until the line phone expansion was done, the GT must facilitate the use of mobile phone services to reduce the hazards associated with travelling and communication in parts of the Region and the country.

He recommended the installation of more pay phones at vantage points for use by those who could not afford to have telephones in their homes. Mr Owusu-Yeboa advised the company to strengthen its client service unit to ensure a more cordial customer relations since customers were the focus of development and progress "because invariably they dictate and determine the wealth that organisations create".

He advised both the contractor and consultants to ensure that the project was completed on schedule to give Ho a big aesthetic value as a regional capital.

Mr Owusu-Yeboa asked the contractor not to be too much profit conscious which could lead to shoddy work, adding "the contractor must live up to expectation by performing well".

Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of Ho Asogli State, who chaired the function, expressed the hope that the project would enable the GT to offer the full range of modern telecom services throughout the Region. He said the project when completed would launch a new era in the development of Information Technology-based (IT) projects in the Region, adding: "We further look forward to the expansion of GT services fostering the development of the other business sectors and stimulating employment."

Mr Douglas Wagba, Regional Head of GT, said 14,000 fixed lines would be added to the existing 9,000 lines to make 23,000 lines.

On mobile services, he said its capacity would be increased to 750,000 under the first phase of the Company's three-year development programme to enhance service delivery.

Mr Timothy Awuku Fiator, the Contractor, promised to do good quality work and called on all key players in the execution of the project to play their part with "one touch".

The project is scheduled for completion in September 2004.