The Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful also announced that two telcos are in the process of being connected.
The Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has said that the government will sanction any telecommunication company that does not connect to the Common Platform operated by Kelni GVG by June 11, 2017.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, said this when she appeared before Parliament to answer questions on the deal which has been described as fraudulent by think tank IMANI Ghana.
The minister also announced that two telcos are in the process of being connected.
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“I am happy to announce that Vodafone and Glo are in the process of being connected as we speak. The others are expected to be connected by the 11th of June. Any operator who fails to comply will be sanctioned.”
She also told Accra-based Citi FM that they will enforce the sanctions if any telco fails to comply.
“They cannot have any legal objection to the execution of this exercise. They have up until the 11th of June to connect to this platform or the sanctions will kick in. I can look them in the eye and say that we will enforce those sanctions,” she insisted.
This is coming at a time when reports suggest that some of the telcos are not happy with the deal. Sections of the general public have also criticised the deal.
One major critique has been think tank, IMANI Africa. The president of the think tank Franklin Cudjoe argue that the KelniGVG deal is similar to controversial agreements the state entered into with Subah Infosolutions and Afriwave Telcom Ltd in 2010 and 2016 respectively.
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He also raised the privacy concerns while questioning the credibility of Kelni GVG.
“Ghanaians will have their data threatened if they allow this GVG company to play with their phone calls, chats, everything. Mind you; this is a company with a website that is so vague it is phoney, with very strange characters behind it since all it has, for a security company of its pedigree, are stock photos,” he said.
However, the government described these accusations of corruption and underhand dealings as needless.
The implementation of the Common Platform is in line with the Communication Service Tax (Amendment) Act, 2013, Act 864.