C/R to receive 30,000 new fixed lines within two years

Cape Coast, Nov. 3 GNA- The Chief Executive of Ghana Telecom, Mr Oystein Bjorge on Monday announced that the company had acquired a loan of 60 million dollars from local banks to help improve its services. He said communication in all parts of the country would be improved over the next two years, and that the Central region, would be provided with additional 30,000 fixed lines and 50,000 mobile phones out of 400,000 fixed lines and 750 mobile phones earmarked for the whole country.

Mr Bjorge, who announced this when he interacted with the staff of the company at Cape Coast as part of day's visit to the region, said 15,000 new pay phones, will also be provided nationwide, with 1,000 of them coming to the region.

According to him, 250,000 of the new fixed lines and 95,000 mobile phones will be provided by the end of next year.

He appealed to the staff to be committed and hard working to salvage the image of the company, which he said, had been able to pay about 400 billion cedis of its 600 billion cedis debt to financial institutions and other utility service providers, since he assumed office ten months ago.

Mr Joseph Tinagyei-Gyimah, Regional Director of the company, appealed to management to consider increasing the capacity of telephone switches in the region to about 20,000 from the current 5,000.