Parliament Delays Vodafone Decision

... Sale Suspended?
Accra, July 18, GNA- Parliament on Friday went on recess without the ratification of the Sale and Purchase Agreement signed by the government to sell 70 per cent stakes in Ghana Telecom (GT) to Vodafone International Holdings BV.

The report of the joint Finance and Communication committee which considered the 900 million-dollar deal was not ready to be laid when the Speaker called for it.

The agreement, which was signed in Accra on July 3 by representatives of government and Vodafone, has been heavily criticized by members of the opposition National Democratic Congress, the Convention People's Party, as well as some civil society groupings. Some of the critics held that the 900 million dollars offer price was too low while others questioned the inclusion of the national fibre optic backbone which had hitherto, not been part of GT's infrastructure, in the deal.

Just before the joint Committee met after the morning session of Parliament, the government reintroduced an amended version of the Agreement to members in order to address some of the concerns raised by critics.

But when the House reconvened for the afternoon plenary, Members were told the Committee's Report was not ready so the expected approval was deferred.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Mr Paul Okoh, Chairman of the Committee on Employment, Social and State Enterprises, said the deferment did not mean that the House had thrown off discussions on the deal.

He said there were loopholes which needed to be corrected to enable the House to reach a consensus on the deal.

However, Mr Kojo Armah, (Evalue Gwira) and co-Chairman of the Committee, said the deferment was to allow time to correct procedural matters, following an agreement by the leadership for the House to look at the final Report.

"We can't continue to be state-led all the time. we still need a large public share in an institution like Ghana Telecom," Mr Armah said. Mr Felix Twumasi-Appiah, (NDC-Sene) said Government "had listened to the voice of reason" on the deal.

He said posterity would be better judges on the concerns raised by the NDC on the sale, adding that in the pursuit of public private partnership, the nation should not end up selling its national assets.
During the sitting, the Road Traffic Amendment Bill, the Anti Terrorism Bill, the Geneva Convention Bills were passed and a number of loan agreements were ratified.
Some of the loan agreements were GHc30,000,000 credit agreement for a Government of Ghana Affordable Housing Projects; An amount of 12.3 million euros for the implementation of the extension of the Kwanyarko Water Supply Rehabilitation and Expansion Project and a 17.1 million euros for the implementation of the Koforidua Water Supply Project. The House also approved the agreement on a seven million-dollar loan to finance the procurement of operation vehicles for the security agencies; 18.8 million euros for construction and equipping of the Winneba District Hospital and 42.8 million dollars to support the power system reinforcement project.
The Leadership of the House thanked Members and the press for their contribution towards the success of the session.
Mr John Tia, Minority Chief Whip, observed that the country was at a critical point as it prepared for the elections in December and urged fellow legislators to be mindful of their actions and utterances in order to preserve the security of the state.
Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, expressed sorrow over the death of former Speaker Ala Adjetey, and announced that the House and the Presidency would work in tandem with the family for a befitting funeral for him.
Mr Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes, the Speaker, expressed appreciation to his two deputies for their support and pledged that the House would mourn the loss of the former Speaker.

Sale of GT suspended

JOyFM -- The much anticipated debate on the controversial deal on the sale of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone has failed once again to come on leading to a suspension of the deal.
The suspension follows the failure of the Joint Committee on Finance Communication of Parliament to lay the report on the deal between the government and Vodafone before the House.
The House which rose on Friday, July 18, 2008 for recess was expected to debate the bill on Thursday but it postponed the debate to Friday when the bill would have been ratified.
But the sale has now been suspended indefinitely.
The Majority Leader of Parliament, Mr. Abraham Osei Aidoo said members of the House needed some time to study the report and make informed debate on the deal.
He said members of the House may be recalled during recess to consider the bill and other important bills.
He rejected suggestions that the government bowed to pressure.
According to him, if the report had been laid early enough to enable members study it, the bill would have been passed.
He said the suspension will allow adequate time to study the report and make useful contributions to ensure that the deal is well refined.
Reacting to concerns that government had gained notoriety for pilling up bills and trying to push them through on the last day of sitting of a session, Mr. Aidoo said the practice was bad.
He however stressed the need for the House to be well resourced in order to effectively deal with issues before the house.
Government entered into a deal with Vodafone to offload its 70 per cent shares valued at $900 million.
But the deal was vehemently opposed by opposition political parties and civil society organisations who saw it as unprofitable deal.
They argued the sale of GT to a foreign company amounted to a demonstration a lack of confidence in the Ghanaian.
Alhaji Asuman Banda a business magnate detests the very idea of the sale.
"it is better to mismanage ourselves than to allow somebody to manage us",he said.
But government argued the sale was necessary to save the company which it said was in debt.
Story by Malik Abass Daabu