Communications and Digitization Minister-designate, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has assured that jobs at telecommunications firm, AirtelTigo Ghana, will not be affected amid government and stakeholder discussions to take over the company.

According to her, government will prioritize and protect the best interest of staff of the company when the acquisition process is completed.

In October 2020, Government of Ghana announced its intention to purchase majority of shares along with assets, liabilities and customers of AirtelTigo Ghana from its parent company Bharti Airtel and Tigo.

But responding to a question during her ministerial vetting on Monday, February 15, 2021, the minister-designate disclosed that government was still in process of deciding what it will do with the company in the long term after the acquisition process is completed.

“Government is in the process of taking over AirtelTigo. The process hasn’t been completed yet, but it is something that we are going to do very quickly, and it is at the request of the operators and shareholders of AirtelTigo who have indicated that they want to exit the Ghanaian market.

“Government in view of the importance of this sector, the role it plays and the number of jobs that are supported by this entity has decided that in the short term it will take over the assets and liabilities of AirtelTigo,” she told the Appointments Committee of Parliament.

“Government is yet to take a decision on what it will do in the long term. Our intention is to maintain it as a going concern and to ensure that we protect the jobs and livelihoods that are dependent on this entity,” she pointed.

Meanwhile, the government earlier on said the decision to purchase 100 percent shares of AirtelTigo is primarily intended to save jobs and protect stakeholders interest of some 5.1 million customers.

AirtelTigo is a joint venture between Bharti Airtel and Millicom International Cellular, operators of tiGO in Ghana. The two merged in 2017, becoming the second-largest telecom operator in Ghana at the time. Additionally, Bharti Airtel holds a non-controlling 49.95 percent stake in AirtelTigo.