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Discussions on the sale of 70 per cent shares of one of the country's most revered assets, Ghana Telecom (GT), rage on even as Parliament is debating the issue.

The government insists on disposing majority of its stake to a foreign company, Vodafone, but the opposition parties and many civil society groups continue to kick against the deal, which they describe as fraudulent, a give-away or in some cases a rip-off.

The concerns of the opposition have been expressed at a series of news conferences, while the government has also used similar fora to argue strongly a case for the sale of the 70 per cent shares to Vodafone.

The world over, the telecommunications sector has become a competitive playing field for multinationals because of the huge investments needed to be able to compete.

This is one of the main reasons the government has found it necessary to dispose of some shares in GT.

The government has also argued that the deal has become necessary, because the proceeds from the sale are badly needed to support the country's budget, which appears to be in deficit because of the soaring prices of crude oil as well as the food crisis on the international market.

But even before the analysis is made, there is the need to understand the evolution of the sector in Ghana.

Historical facts

A new chapter in the development of Ghana's telecommunications system was opened in November 1974, when the Post and Telecommunication Department was declared a public corporation by the government of the National Redemption Council Decree No. 311 and placed under the authority of the then Ministry of Transport and Communication.

Under the Instrument of Incorporation, the Post and Telecommunication Corporation (P&T) was formed, and it was administered by a board of directors who functioned as the corporation's governing body.

In 1975, the P&T began negotiating loans from many multilateral and bilateral financial institutions in order to undertake a number of development projects to modernise and expand both national and international telecommunication services in Ghana.

The objective of these projects, known collectively as the First Telecommunication Project (FTP), comprised rehabilitation, modernisation and expansion of Ghana's national telecommunication network.

The project, which was expected to span a period of four years (1975-79), involved financial commitments totalling $76 million.

 In the end, the funds were raised by the Government of Ghana, the World Bank, Japan, the African Development Bank, and Canada.

The specific accomplishments of the FTP included the installation of 12 new electronic exchanges to replace old and obsolete automatic and manual telephone exchanges; thus, increasing Ghana's telephone line capacity by about 50 per cent; increasing the number of subscriber trunk dialling centres from 18 to 24, the construction of tertiary exchange, a telex, a message switch in the capital, an earth station in the country, among others.

Ghana Telecom today

After these came many other projects, all funded with monies mostly from loans.

One may recall the $150 million Alcatel Shangai Bell loan, which did not come in the form of cash but in equipment.  Continued    Source: DAILY GRAPHIC - Daily Graphic

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