Kwame Pianim chides Vodafone report
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Economist and business analyst, Kwame Pianim, has criticized portions of the report of the inter-ministerial committee that investigated the divestiture of Ghana Telecom (GT).
Mr Pianim said portions of the document which accuses former president Kufuor for meddling in the transaction in which Vodafone acquired 70% share of the company, is rather misplaced.
The committee, amongst its findings, faulted the former president for interfering in the transaction, describing his action as “highly irregular, unconventional and did not rely on expert advice.”
But speaking on Joy FM's current affairs programme Front Page Mr Pianim said that suggestion will not be appropriate.
“For anybody to even suggest that our head of state, who embodies all our pride,… to think that such a person we voted for,…is capable of selling down the country; I think it's disgraceful. We should not, as Ghanaians, go that way. You appoint a president, let us give him the respect due to the seat he is occupying,” Mr Pianim told host Kwaku Sakyi-Addo.
The economist cited what he said is a strong aversion a multi-national company like Vodafone has for bribery and corruption. Such companies would be risking their brand if they give bribes to secure contracts, he said.
Mr Pianim cautioned government and the leadership of the opposition NPP to desist from politicizing discussions on the GT-Vodafone deal.
He said in such a transaction, the state must ensure that the investing entity can sustain the business being divested. Priority must be given to the capacity of the investor to upgrade equipment and improve efficiency, he said.
Meanwhile, a former Communications Minister in the Kufuor administration who was also on the programme said there was no wrongdoing on the part of the previous administration in selling 70% of GT to UK-based company.
Mr. Opare Ansah who was part of the then government team which negotiated the GT-Vodafone deal said the committee's suggestions that due diligence was not done is flawed.
He said the recommendations rather provide fodder for suspicion that the committee may not have done an independent work.
“There was clear due diligence that was done with expert entities,” he said, from the Ecobank Development Corporation (EDC).
A management consultant Kofi Bentil also defended the previous government's decision to privatize Vodafone.
He said governments mostly in corruption infested third world countries have never been able to manage state assets as efficient as private entities would manage them.
Government is expected to issue a white paper stating its stance on the recommendations made by the committee.
Play the attached audio for Pianim's assertions
Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline/Ghana