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Parliament rises
without discussing Ghana Telecom sale Agreement
Accra, July 18, Ghanadot/GNA- Parliament on Friday went on
recess without the ratification of the Sale and Purchase
Agreement signed by the government to sell 70 per cent
stakes in Ghana Telecom (GT) to Vodafone International
Holdings BV.
The report of the joint Finance and Communication committee
which considered the 900 million-dollar deal was not ready
to be laid when the Speaker called for it.
The agreement, which was signed in Accra on July 3 by
representatives of government and Vodafone, has been heavily
criticized by members of the opposition National Democratic
Congress, the Convention People’s Party, as well as some
civil society groupings.
Some of the critics held that the 900 million dollars offer
price was too low while others questioned the inclusion of
the national fibre optic backbone which had hitherto, not
been part of GT’s infrastructure, in the deal.
Just before the joint Committee met after the morning
session of Parliament, the government reintroduced an
amended version of the Agreement to members in order to
address some of the concerns raised by critics.
But when the House reconvened for the afternoon plenary,
Members were told the Committee’s Report was not ready so
the expected approval was deferred.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Mr Paul Okoh, Chairman of
the Committee on Employment, Social and State Enterprises,
said the deferment did not mean that the House had thrown
off discussions on the deal.
He said there were loopholes which needed to be corrected to
enable the House to reach a consensus on the deal.
However, Mr Kojo Armah, (Evalue Gwira) and co-Chairman of
the Committee, said the deferment was to allow time to
correct procedural matters, following an agreement by the
leadership for the House to look at the final Report.
“We can’t continue to be state-led all the time… we still
need a large public share in an institution like Ghana
Telecom,” Mr Armah said.
Mr Felix Twumasi-Appiah, (NDC-Sene) said Government “had
listened to the voice of reason” on the deal.
He said posterity would be better judges on the concerns
raised by the NDC on the sale, adding that in the pursuit of
public private partnership, the nation should not end up
selling its national assets.
During the sitting, the Road Traffic Amendment Bill, the
Anti Terrorism Bill, the Geneva Convention Bills were passed
and a number of loan agreements were ratified.
Some of the loan agreements were GHc30,000,000 credit
agreement for a Government of Ghana Affordable Housing
Projects; An amount of 12.3 million euros for the
implementation of the extension of the Kwanyarko Water
Supply Rehabilitation and Expansion Project and a 17.1
million euros for the implementation of the Koforidua Water
Supply Project.
The House also approved the agreement on a seven
million-dollar loan to finance the procurement of operation
vehicles for the security agencies; 18.8 million euros for
construction and equipping of the Winneba District Hospital
and 42.8 million dollars to support the power system
reinforcement project.
The Leadership of the House thanked Members and the press
for their contribution towards the success of the session.
Mr John Tia, Minority Chief Whip, observed that the country
was at a critical point as it prepared for the elections in
December and urged fellow legislators to be mindful of their
actions and utterances in order to preserve the security of
the state.
Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, expressed
sorrow over the death of former Speaker Ala Adjetey, and
announced that the House and the Presidency would work in
tandem with the family for a befitting funeral for him.
Mr Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes, the Speaker, expressed
appreciation to his two deputies for their support and
pledged that the House would mourn the loss of the former
Speaker.
GNA
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