Gov't assures collaboration with telcos on policies

Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu Ekuful and the Acting Director-General of National Communications Authority (NCA), Joseph Anokye have assured telcos of collaboration in developing policies to drive the industry.

The two were speaking to telco CEOs and other industry stakeholders at a cocktail reception organized by the Ghana Chamber of Telecoms to welcome the two new government appointees.

The private cocktail was also to provide a platform for industry stakeholders to network and build sustainable working relationships with the appointees to further enhance the development of the sector.

Ursula Owusu Ekuful said “This government is willing to work with the private sector and the telecoms sector is key on the government's list.

"I have no doubts that Telecommunications is the biggest and best-performing industry in Ghana today," she said.

The Minister served on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications in the last Parliament and once held managerial roles with Westel Telecommunications and Zain Telecoms (Airtel) in 2009.

On his part, the new Acting NCA DG, Joe Anokye said: “the Regulator will collaborate with service providers to enrich formulation and implementation of all sector policies to achieve a win-win outcome for government, players, and consumers”.

Prior to his appointment, Joe Anokye was a Telecommunications Service Manager at NASA in the United States.

CEO of The Chamber, Kwaku Sakyi-Addo said: “these new appointees bring a wealth of corporate, legal, legislative, technical experience and insights to the Ministry and the NCA. We are confident that they’ll bring these to bear in this new industrial revolution which telecommunication is today.”

The Chairman of the Telecoms Chamber and CEO of Vodafone Ghana, Yolanda Cuba said, “the industry players will work with the government to ensure a thriving sector which empowers and impacts the lives of Ghanaians."

Those who attended the cocktail included officials from the NCA, MoC, Telcos, Tower Companies, Parliament, Revenue Authority, Environment Protection Agency, Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications, Radiation Protection Institute (GAEC), Google Ghana, Media, other industry players and their representatives.