NDC condemns sale of 70% of GT to Vodafone

Accra, Aug. 18, GNA - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Monday condemned last week's parliamentary approval of 70 per cent of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone International BV of the Netherlands.

In a statement issued by Ms. Hanna Tetteh, Director of Communications, NDC said it wished to place on record that the actions of officials of the government - from the Minister of Finance, to the NPP Members of Parliament - were "demonstrative of a party and a government whose primary concern is their political survival over the competent management of the interests of the state". It said the primary reason for the sale of the shares at this time was apparently not only the survival of the enterprise, but rather the sustenance of the economy of Ghana.

"It is interesting to note that the celebrated economist - Mr Kwame Pianim in an interview with Daily Graphic stated that Ghana's economy needed an injection of $130 million to stay healthy and the sale of 70 per cent of GT shares to Vodafone could provide that critical support, strengthen the macro economy and control inflation." The NDC said Mr. Pianim was quoted as saying that if the Government backed out of the sale they would be finished.

"This statement has not been denied. It was also stated that without this sale, Ghana Telecom would be in critical condition and the workers jobs would be at risk, it is interesting that the running mate to Nana Akufo-Addo was part of the Board that oversaw the decline of Ghana Telecom to this sorry state."

The statement said the NDC as the elected government of the people of Ghana always ensured that the well-being and security of Ghana was always maintained when it sold shares in state owned enterprises to foreign investors.

"Under the NDC the Government of Ghana maintained majority shares for the people of this country in Ghana Telecom recognizing its importance as a strategic national asset. This ensured that the Ghanaian tax payer out of whose sweat and toil the state owned enterprises were built continued to reap benefits from their investments. "The NDC is of the view that more could have been realized for the sale of GT fixed line and carrier service, one-touch mobile service, the fibre-optic gateway and the exzeed call services." The NDC repeated its flag bearer's statement that the agreement would be reviewed in order to satisfy itself that the people of Ghana had not been short-changed. 18 Aug. 08