|
Government pledges not to license new telecom operators
Accra, Aug. 27, Ghanadot/GNA –
Government has decided not to license new telecom operators
to safeguard the integrity of the industry, Mr. Haruna
Iddrisu, Minister of Communications said on Wednesday.
“Government has no intentions of adding a new telecom player
to the six players in the Ghanaian market,” he said at the
inauguration of the refurbished Head Office building of
Millicom Ghana Limited, operators of Tigo in Accra.
He stressed that the decision was to ensure that the
integrity of the market was not compromised.
Mr. Iddrisu noted that telecom and mobile telecom in
particular was a key driver of the country’s development,
saying that as at the close of the first quarter of the
year, (March 2009), 67 per cent of the 22 million Ghanaians
owned and used mobile phone numbers, representing an
increase of 13 per cent over the record of December 2008,
which stood at 54 per cent.
He observed that in response to the call by the government
for telecom operators to print their scratch cards in Ghana,
some of the operators were currently doing so, saying “we
will like to further urged Tigo to explore that opportunity
too”.
Mr. Iddrisu assured the operators that in line with
President Evans Atta Mills promise of a transparent and
consultative government, the ruling National Democratic
Congress, would continue to engage industry players in every
major policy decisions regarding the industry.
The minister recalled the recently announced fiscal
stability levy slapped on corporate organisations in the
country, saying that within a matter of a year the tax would
be removed to allow the companies to operate in a friendlier
environment.
“It is our policy to encourage corporate social
responsibility and so immediately we achieve the necessarily
fiscal stability, we will remove the levy to free more money
for you to carry out your social responsibility activities,”
he said.
GNA
|
