Minority Seeks Clarification in GT Sale

Mr Iddrisu Haruna, Ranking Member of Communications in parliament, on Sunday requested Vodafone P.L.C, U.K. to confirm and clarify its position in the transaction with the government of Ghana to divest Ghana Telecom (GT) to it.In a signed letter dated June 27 to Vadafone and copied to Ghana News Agency, Mr Haruna, who is also the MP for Tamale South said, "Officials of the Government of Ghana have recently named Vodafone P.L.C., U.K. as a party to the on-going negotiations to acquire a significant majority of Ghana Telecom shares.

"He said, "I am writing to you to: Confirm the position of Vodafone U.K. in the transaction to divest Ghana Telecom and to seek clarification from you on the interest of Vodafone, U.K. in the divestiture of the Ghana Telecom."Mr Haruna said, "Any additional information that you may be inclined to share with us concerning the structure, execution and processing of this divestiture transaction between the Government of Ghana (acting on behalf of the Ghana Telecom), and Vodafone PLC U.K. will be greatly appreciated."Dr. Anthony Osei Akoto last week during a press interaction noted that, the privatization of GT was to end next week, and that the completion would help enhance divestiture receipts to close the gap that had been created by the relief measures announced by President John Agyekum Kufuor last month.He said a prospective company had been found to take over GT from the beginning of next month and that "It wasn't true that investors were shying away because of the bidding price".

Mr Benjamin Ntim, Minister of Communications had told Parliament last week that negotiations for the process to privatise the Ghana Telecommunication Company (GT) were to close by the end of June 2008. Answering questions on the floor of the House, Mr Ntim said government owned 100 percent shares in the company, but the shares would be floated on the Ghana Stock Exchange, when privatized.The Government of Ghana in 2006 took a decision to privatize GT and Westel, a sister telecommunication company, within a two-year period through the sale of its shares in the two companies.

Source: GNA

MTN – FACING THE WRATH OF DISAPPOINTED GHANAIAN SUBSCRIBERS!

It's amazing how subscribers of MTN one of the largest Mobile telecommunication Operators in the Ghana reacted to an announcement by the operator that it has now introduce an Innovative service named MTN Zone. The reaction stern from the fact that MTN not only provide poor services to its customers but also rub millions of them of their purchased credit on their phone leaving them frustrated and disappointed. After a publication from GNA was pasted on the Ghanaweb site, some of the subscribers through their comment to that page vented their anger on the sub standard services provided by MTN.

Below are some of the comments that were made by some disappointed folk using MTN.

• Note these are unedited comment from the Ghanaweb.site.
  
  Uncle Kay
  Date:
  2008-06-20 02:41:02
  Improve the standard of net work and stop all these crap.
  
  Bacho Eunice
  Date:
  2008-06-20 04:41:22
  We really appreciate your efforts in reducing cost of calls but it also makes no sense when one cannot make calls at crucial moments because of poor network services. Phones are not for the beauty of it but for making calls.
  
  Kanewu
  
  Date:
  2008-06-20 06:15:05
  Arn, pls wake up.Have u ever seen a policeman taking a bribe b4? But u believe when people say it. Anyway r u an employee of mtn? Do u know what number portability is(ie migrating to another network and still use your number)let mtn try this for one day and see if the name MTN will ever exist
  
  
  PAA GRANT
  Date:
  2008-06-20 06:35:22
  MTN, your comments or your publication is too technical for ordinary subscriber of MTN to understand. Tell the customer, you can make call to all MTN customer at this rate and stop the hide and seek you are doing
  
  
  
  Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Ghana, has announced the launch of a new Innovative service named MTN Zone. The service, which runs on the per second billing plan, gives its Pay As You Go subscribers the opportunity to enjoy up to 100% discount day and night on calls they make to other MTN Ghana subscribers. A statement issued in Accra said MTN Zone subscribers have a flat tariff on all MTN to MTN calls when they register and subsequently receive messages that display dynamic discounts they enjoy at any point in time."In order to enjoy the benefits of MTN Zone, existing and new MTN prepaid customers simply need to register for the service by entering *135*1# and pressing the send or ok button on their handset. Alternatively, they could send 1 to SMS short code 135," the statement said. It said registration onto MTN Zone service was currently free of charge.The statement said subscribers also needed to enter *135*4# and press the send or ok key to activate the cell broadcast functionality on their handsets. It said the cell broadcast feature when enabled, gave MTN customers the opportunity to see the dynamic percentage discount they would enjoy when they initiate a call at that time and the discount would be applicable throughout the duration of the call. "This process is unique for each handset module," the statement noted.The statement urged customers who wanted further information on the service to call the MTN Customer Service toll free number 111. The statement quoted Mr. George Kojo Andah, Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Ghana as saying that "we are excited at what the team here at MTN Ghana has been able to provide after thorough research and development." He said this new service empowered MTN customers with more, choice and control over their cost of making calls, adding that the excitement the service had generated within one week was unparalleled in the industry in Ghana. "As usual we will lead the market in innovation and others can follow", Mr. Andah said. Mr. Andah said MTN regard its subscribers and their satisfaction as the key reasons for doing business and therefore the company kept on exciting subscribers with innovative products, services and value added packages.He noted that MTN Zone was only one of the solutions MTN would be delivering to its subscribers in Ghana, saying that since last year MTN subscribers in Ghana were able to call other MTN subscribers within West and Central Africa at the local rate. "Now we have made it even more exciting by enabling them to call the USA and Canada still at the local rate," Mr Andah added.
  
  Source:GNA
  
  
  

iBurst Africa keeps Ghana in line with global standards

iBurst is setting new standards in technology after being approved as an IEEE standard: 802.20. This creates an open platform whereby iBurst technology will be shared publicly. The publication of IEEE 802.20 or Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA) Working Group will enable other technology manufacturers to develop and deploy the technology globally.iBurst technology has been officially accredited by the largest professional society in the world - the IEEE.

The publication of this standard is the culmination of over 5 years of detailed analysis and review by technical experts from around the globe. The IEEE, The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, is the world’s most respected technical society and is the organization that sets the standards for a broad range of electronic technology.

In line with iBurst Africa’s objectives, the IEEE’s goal is to enable worldwide deployment of affordable, wide-spread, always-on and interoperable multi-vendor mobile broadband wireless access networks that meet the needs of business and residential end user markets. By publishing this standard, the IEEE has endorsed iBurst technology as key to meeting this goal.

The benefit to Ghana, where iBurst Africa has recently expanded its services in the Accra and the Tema regions, is that iBurst technology is a world class and reliable technology, and will become more widespread and affordable as new equipment vendors join this market.iBurst Africa believes that this standard will ensure that their customers and prospective customers will further enjoy the benefits of their low-cost, always-on, and truly mobile broadband wireless network.

Glo Mobile Ghana pays $50 Million to become Ghana’s sixth mobile operator.

Nigerian player Glo Mobile has been awarded Ghana’s sixth mobile operating license after they emerged tops of the ‘highly competitive’ bidding process largely for its technical presentation, extensive roll-out plan and pedigree.

According to the operator, it was informed in a letter of the decision by the Ghanaian telecoms regulator the National Communications Authority (NCA) that its local unit GloMobile Ghana had been declared the winner of the GSM license. Other players thought to have been involved in the ‘beauty contest’ for the sixth license included Global Trade Imex, TechnoEdge Ghana, Teylium Telecom International, TransAtlantic Industries and Warid Telecom International. This news comes as surprise to many analysts in the communication industry. Since the addition of another operator to the current existing ones would not bring about any improvement in the system.

They believe that the regulator which is the National Communication Authority (NCA) have not ensured first of all, a level playing field for all operators and secondly have allowed consumers to suffer at the hands of these operators without any in punitive measures. With the coming in of Glo Mobile Ghana into the Ghanaian GSM market, analysts are worried about how the regulator would be able to control all the six operators to ensure a healthful competitive environment where telecom operators and their million consumers would enjoy the fruits of a liberalize and innovative industry.

However, Glo Mobile's management expressed gratitude to the NCA for the confidence reposed in the company and promised to "roll out aggressively" in the country "very shortly".

Zero Tolerance for Corruption and Presidential Prerogative of Mercy

Ghanaians would recall that zero tolerance for corruption marked a corner stone in President Kufuor’s inaugural government. The prevalence of corruption as indicated by research, both home and abroad, coupling with our own perception about how it accounts for our abject poverty and underdevelopment made the President’s pronouncement very welcomed. However, the incessant use of presidential prerogative of mercy to pardon convicted public officials is worrying, as it reduces the power of the law courts in upholding public values against corruption and bad governance. Invariably, it also undermines the Nation’s resolve and commitment in fighting corruption ruthlessly. It must be recalled, the trial and imprisonment of a member of government in the person of Mallam Issa signaled a ruthless resolve of the government, spearheaded by the Attorney General not to shield and protect corrupt officials. The cynics branded the prosecution, trial and sentence as cosmetic as they saw Mallam Issa as an outsider who had been sacrificed by the government. Whether they were right or wrong is the judgment of the Nation. Moreover, true to the government’s avowed object to deal ruthless with corruption, a couple of Ministers and Public officials in the NDC government were arraigned before the courts and after long judicial battle, notably, Kwame Peprah, the Late Victor Solormey, Sefa Yankye, Ibrahim Adams and Dan Abodakpi, were convicted and sentenced to varied terms in prison for willfully causing financial loss to the State.
Indeed, there is no doubt these sentences ignited a new sense of national consciousness against corruption and a judicial system ready to adjudicate matters based on the true principles of the rule of law as they languished in jail, only for the President to commute these sentences under his prerogative of mercy. Critics of these prosecutions and convictions argue that the judiciary is dependent and selectively prosecute to favor government. Critically, it is reasonable since the Attorney General, doubling as Minister of Justice is appointed by the President and sits in the cabinet. This arrangement questions the independence of the judiciary and it’s prone to selective justice. Why all most, all convicted corrupt public officials have their sentences commuted?
History is path dependant, according to research, I believe this explains why the PNDC as architects of the 1992 Republican Constitution, motivated by its absolute rule during their despotic days sought to cripple the judiciary by compromising her independence. Clearly, they’ve been victims of their history and as the wise adage goes ‘se woto adubone a ebika wa ano’.
Institutions and norms change, but gradual, I commend both NPP and NDC governments for leading legislations in the last couple of years aimed at addressing issues of corruption such as the Law of Causing Financial Loss to the State’ which the NDC argues they never used ’, Financial Administration Act, Internal Audit Act, The Public Procurement Act, the Repeal of the Criminal Libel Law and the Freedom of Information Bill’ which the government is yet to assent’, just to mention but a few of legislations dealing with corruption and good governance.
Indeed, fifteen years in a democracy, I believe Ghanaians would like to listen and vote on issues that would seem to be changing or improving upon our past history. I believe issues of making the judiciary independent’ creating an independent prosecution service to control selective justice’, Issues of political party funding and selection of candidates’ to ensure grass root participation and control the seemingly entrenchment and endorsement of bribery and corruption in selecting candidates which breeds sycophancy’, issues of revenue generation and innovative taxation strategies to curtail our over dependence on donor support and funding’ would be at the centre stage of political parties manifestoes’ which Kofi Wayo argues is a communist document and has no relevance now but rather a policy document is required’.
In conclusion, whiles I do not have the power to dictate how the President should dispenses with his prerogative of mercy as enshrined in article 72 of the 1992 Republican Constitution, I would want to believe, the exercise of such discretion is done to reflect and uphold good public policy and our common morality as a Nation.

By:Yaw Awuah Boadu Ayeboafo Tepa-Ashanti. www.ayeboafo.com

Ghana Football Association appoints 'Diego" Buchwald to take charge of the National Team-Black Star.

Ghana has contracted German trainer Guido "'Diego" Buchwald as the new coach for the Black Stars.
A 'supreme' source at the Ghana Football Association (GFA) told GNA Sports that Buchwald has signed a two-year renewable contract to manager the Black Stars.
The GFA is expected to outdoor the new coach next week. The source said both parties agreed on contractual terms when the coach was interviewed in Accra by his employers a fortnight ago. The GNA Sports can confirm that the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports is scheduled to meet the Federation later today, (Monday) ahead of the coach's unveiling slated for next Monday, June 23. Buchwald, 47, is expected to witness the Black Stars World Cup/African Nations Cup qualifier against Gabon at the Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra on Sunday.
Capped 74 times for Germany, the former defender previously managed Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds and Alemannia Aachen in his native country.As a player, his best career game was probably the final of the 1990 FIFA World Cup final when he effectively marked the Argentine creative genius Diego Maradona, earning him the nickname 'Diego'. Buchwald who succeeds French coach Claude Le Roy was also part of Germany's disappointing 1994 World Cup squad.Le Roy parted ways with Ghana last month when his contract was expected to have elapsed at the end of June citing personal reasons.The GFA head-hunted for the French's successor in a move that drew names including Klaus Toppmoller and former trainer Ralph Zumdick close to the vacant position. 16

Source:GNA

Are Ghanaian doctors greedy?

A cursory review of the electronic media late last week revealed most callers heaving a sigh of relief over the announcement that the government had finally overcome its two and a half year tardiness and agreed on a planned framework for administering doctors’ salaries albeit being forced to sign the document under threat of strike action by the doctors.In its aftermath, it has become a matter of extreme importance to address some recurrent labour issues between doctors and their employers as raised by the general public; mainly whether standard labour practices like concluding a negotiation by signing a memorandum of understanding a copy of which should be deposited with the National Labour Commission ought to take that long to conclude and whether industrial unrest had to be threatened before doing it. In the process, some who perhaps do not sufficiently appreciate the contending issues have been quick to label Ghanaian doctors as a greedy lot who constantly demand an unfair share of the national cake to the disadvantage of other professionals and public sector workers and who perhaps owing to the sensitive nature of their work, have had their demands being met.Also deserving of some attention is the concern expressed by some non-doctors sympathetic to the cause of doctors that when such labour disputes break, contrary to securing the support, sympathy and understanding of the masses for our cause and against the infractions of government, the doctors do not seem to have sufficiently valued the public relations war to the extent that both supportive and hostile public responses are dished out in equal measure when the support of the public for better conditions of service for doctors should have been something that could be taken for granted normally.The signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last week however marked the end of a significant phase of the struggle. The leadership of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) ought also to be commended for keeping their eyes on the ball and especially in the light of the specific tasks set the new leadership by the Takoradi AGM of November 2007. These tasks included securing an MOU with concrete provisions for addressing distorted relativities, wage opener clause (s) and the restoration of fuel allowance (20 gallons/month) illegally and unilaterally abrogated by the government in clear breech of the good faith and unambiguous understanding reached at the Negotiating Table in January 2006.The GMA leadership has since activated the Wage Opener Clause for the orderly review of doctors’ salaries and in the hope that the government will show similar faith and commitment to implementing all decisions negotiated and agreed upon. If both sides show equal measure of healthy respect, there absolutely should be no problems, at least not from the GMA.In my mind’s eye however, I see certain features of this new phase that both the leadership and membership of the Ghana Medical Association ought to be critically mindful of.The first is the need to continue with our policy of playing by the rules while holding the government accountable on all the provisions spelt out in the MOU for addressing outstanding issues. We must continue to be intolerant of acts of bad faith perpetrated by our employers especially in the light of the Labour Commission’s ruling on August 15, 2006 that “now that the Ghana Medical Association has registered as trade union in accordance with Act 651, the employer can no longer take unilateral decisions in issues affecting the GMA, neither can the employer impose its decisions on it. Rather, what both the employer and the employee’s representative should seek to do is always submit proposals for discussion which when approved, would be signed by the parties and would be binding on them as such.” Indeed having followed due process all this while, it is not surprising that both rulings of the NLC have been unambiguously supportive of the position of the GMA.If other labour Unions prefer not to take on the government for willfully reneging on their word, that is a decision we as doctors must respect but not necessarily emulate.The GMA leadership is convinced that not only have our demands been fair and just, but that the work load is such that steps ought to be taken to ensure that the good people of Ghana have access to as many qualified health professionals as possible and the least the government can do is to pay those already working their negotiated salaries to enable them to discharge their duties with peace of mind.When a new crop of doctors was posted to a District Hospital in Volta who spearheaded the NHIS, OPD attendance shot up from an average of 40 to about 207 per day with serious implications for work load and quality of care. While it may be prudent to adopt a policy of free maternity care following the 46 million pounds donated by the UK government, there is also need to ask ourselves whether we have made adequate provision for manpower support in deprived areas seeing that this policy will have clear implications for increased access.What would it take for example to ensure that the inequitable distribution of health professionals to the disadvantage of the rural Ghana with sometimes up to about 70% of various health professionals being located in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi, is addressed?The second consideration is for both leadership and membership of the GMA to engage more proactively and constructively with the public with the avowed aim of smashing false government propaganda published in a certain pro-government newspaper two years ago and repeated by government spokesperson often enough that on the average, the doctors who were making so much noise were earning as much as 40-50 million cedis a month and were still not satisfied.This propaganda can only be countered if we as doctors overcome our lethargy and both leadership and members resolve to engage on all fronts to counter every lie that is told with two truths. We must engage on the airwaves, in the print media, with text messages, phone call for phone call and on interactive websites where all insults aimed at doctors based on misinformation ought to be countered with a sympathetic ear, decency and the simple truth of the realities on the ground.This new approach can never successfully be prosecuted by the GMA leadership alone which is why if you see or hear your President on television or on radio respectively, as a doctor-member with a stake in the matter, it is also your responsibility to call in, text in, shout in, laugh in, corroborate his story, encourage him, re-emphasize hidden points and indeed do whatever else you can to support our decision to tell our own story. If we all fail in this and allow the public to hear from us only when we are threatening a strike to the total exclusion of all GMA activities aimed at improving health care, then we shall have no cause to complain when our genuine concerns for welfare and for public health interests is mischievously misrepresented by government spokespersons, propagandists and soothsayers. There shouldn’t be any doubt whatsoever that all doctors have a lot of work to do in this direction.We must tell our own story, no doubt.While doing so, we must never deceive ourselves that public opinion is not important. As some in our ranks have pointed out, it is we who have oft displayed an inability to court public favour. We should also never display any lack of sensitivity to the sad realities of various public sector workers who have been having salary reforms for years with no end in sight. While doing so, doctors ought also to empathize with these workers for it is only in so doing that we can better appreciate the extent of the hostility some feel towards us and it is in understanding the hostility that we can better enable ourselves to counter the propaganda that has stirred up the hostility.Imagine my mother, an Assistant Director 1 of the Ghana Education Service who after over 30 years in the service earns a take home pay of less than five million cedis per month. She and other teachers are then told I earn 40 million cedis per month which is more than 8 times her salary and still they hear me asking for more? Never mind that it is the responsibility of her leaders to press their case as long as we as doctors display an awareness that such a serious situation exists and subsequently, mount effective strategies to deal with it especially since the figures being bandied around are simply false.I will give another example. On a radio programme recently, the Greater Accra Divisional Secretary kept hearing this “doctors are okay philosophy”. Pushed to the wall, the Child Health Specialist asked the presenter what she thought was his net income. “20 million”, she volunteered which was really funny considering that Dr. Owusu-Sekyere’s net income is less than half the figure!While doing this, it is also important to purge our ranks of the mentality of some of our colleagues who are overly sympathetic to the cause of government to the extent that it blinds them from the naked truth that various acts of omission and commission of this government are largely responsible for courting public disaffection for the medical profession.This has happened in spite of the fact that on a fair and objective analysis of the issues, it shouldn’t have been difficult to appreciate that doctors have always been fair and straightforward in their dealings with government which has amply demonstrated bad faith a major step of the way. Some of these colleagues have often been quick to attack the leadership of the Ghana Medical Association, sometimes publicly, other times in secret high and low places when their time, energies and resources would have been better spent advising their friends in government to show minimal respect for the provisions of the labour law as regards negotiating and implementing negotiated agreements in good faith.How come it has taken us over two and a half years to sign a simple Memorandum of Understanding and even then only under threat of strike action when the GMA had always made its input to the draft document available when called to do so? How come government was categorical in its exclusion of fuel allowance from the basic salaries at the negotiating table and yet turned round to unilaterally abolish it without recourse to the GMA as a registered labour union? How come while negotiating the promotion of qualified doctors to the position of Consultants etc, the employer had long issued a written ban on the promotion of doctors without ever finding it necessary to bring this crucial information to the negotiating table contrary to the provisions of Section 97 (2) of the Labour Law? How come over two and a half years after the completion of negotiations, doctors and lecturers in the Teaching Hospitals can still not see their way clear as to their continued exclusion from the new salary scheme? How come the GMA has not succeeded in argueing this case forcefully to the public and win their support in spite of various genuine attempts to use dialogue to solve these problems? In the event, the public has only heard about it and understandably lambasted the doctors after the Association has grown tired of endless fruitless meetings and allowed the groundswell of discontent to take over?Today, let the people judge whether it is the doctors that are strike-prone or the employer that lacks fundamental respect for the new paradigm of labour-management relations. Today if the GMA had had its way, allegations that some doctors use public facilities for private practice would have been most adequately addressed under the clause on “faculty practice” while by clearly defining hours of work, administrators would have been better placed to bring to book some doctors accused of disappearing from public facilities after a few hours to attend to patients at their private clinic.Clearly, the attitude of the GMA has never been one of “give me, give me, give me” as the above two examples show clearly the extent to which we are ready to safe-guard the public health interests.The third thing to watch out for is that on the health front, divide-and-rule tactics have worked too well among various professionals, unfortunately. On this score we must follow the leadership of the GMA President in his attempts to close down our ranks as much and as soon as possible in order to enable us press ahead united on a common front. It is hoped others will reciprocate the gesture.The last but by no means the least is the need for some members of the media itself to undergo some level of reorientation. Oftentimes when GMA raises critical issues bordering on its unhappiness with the conduct of government, one finds that some media persons seem fixated on “when are you going on strike?” to the total exclusion of the dominant broader underlying issues. As unbelievable as it may sound, I have had an experience when an employee with a television station has told me point blank that if we were not going to declare a strike at a certain scheduled press conference at GMA House, his station would not cover the event! Indeed, the press conference was aimed at announcing the suspension of a series of activities culminating in industrial action and the television station in question simply didn’t show up for the strange reason that it was not a declaration of strike action.I am by this calling for real support and genuine partnership from the media. The leadership of the GMA does not intend that all its time would be taken up by strikes and salaries etc. GMA is 50 this year and has come out with nationwide health outreaches which happen every month in a chosen Division. Volta Division has only recently organised a medical outreach to Bomigo Island near Keta via a canoe where over 400 inhabitants were screened with free donation of drugs etc. We need media help in telling people about it. We have planned powerful Anniversary Lectures for the month of August aimed at tearing apart the health sector…well, not exactly although our high-profile speakers are expected to deepen the health policy discourse while defining the way forward in the next fifty years and the role of the Ghana Medical Association in this journey. We need some useful partnerships here too.Furthermore, we have formed a Public Health Advocacy Unit with over fifty volunteer doctors who are constantly engaging various media in dispelling the health misinformation that often saturates the airwaves. Some may also recall the launch of our top-quality 36 page full-color GMA Focus newsmagazine a couple of months ago to deal with the socio-medico-politics of health not just within the GMA but within the larger populace. Interestingly the July-September Edition of the newsmagazine is dedicated to the theme of Heath and Election 2008.The other day, it was Dr. E. Spio-Garbrah of the CTO who was waxing eloquent on Joy about the need to exploit the benefits of ICT as regards networking for health professionals etc. It might be relevant to point out that the GMA has already established a Google Groups discussion website that is powerfully connecting doctors both home and abroad to engage in amazing creative conversations that are already going a long way to improve medical practice and impact patient care positively.Clearly, exciting things are happening within the Ghana Medical Association and we shall pursue these philosophical objectives while simultaneously securing the welfare interests of our members.And so, are Ghanaian doctors a greedy lot? I beg your pardon?! Of course not!

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect the views of Urban Gossip.

Source:Sodzi-Tettey, Sodzi