The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu Ekuful, is scheduled to appear before Parliament today, Monday, March 18, 2024.
This appearance is in response to the internet disruption that affected the country starting from Thursday, March 14, which has yet to be fully restored.
Mrs. Owusu Ekuful is expected to provide Parliament with a briefing on the government’s efforts to prevent future occurrences of such internet blackouts.
The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications and the National Communications Authority have already issued statements regarding an undersea fibre optic disruption that is affecting internet services.
During a session in Parliament on Friday, March 15, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the MP for North Tongu, emphasized the need for Mrs. Owusu Ekuful to appear before the House.
He highlighted the magnitude of the disruption and expressed concerns about the lack of clarity regarding the extent of the damage.
He also mentioned the frustrations experienced by citizens in various daily activities, such as financial services and bank transactions.
“It’s even a national security issue. Mr Speaker, I note from the business statement that fortunately for us, the honourable minister responsible for Communications and Digitalization is expected in this House on Monday, the 18th of March, 2024, to answer two questions that are not related to this matter.
“So I want to appeal to you if you can give a ruling that the honourable Minister, when coming to respond to these questions, shall come with a statement on this very important matter of national significance and what the government is doing to help restore normalcy so that we can have access to the internet and to our data services,” he said.
The Member of Parliament for the Asawase constituency in the Ashanti Region, Muntaka Mubarak, has criticized the Minister’s delay in briefing Parliament on the internet disruption situation.
He emphasized the importance of proactive communication from government officials to address public concerns and prevent speculation.
“For me, even Monday [March 18] is looking far because this thing started yesterday in the morning like a joke. Then in the evening, it was coming back and up to now it’s not stable. Nobody knows what’s happening and the minister doesn’t find it necessary to run to this House to brief us on the reason for the country to know what is happening and give some assurances. Mr Speaker, it’s worrying,” he stressed.
Nonetheless, the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, reassured MPs that he had been in contact with the Communications Minister. They had agreed that she would present a statement on the situation to Parliament on Monday, March 18.
“The Minister for Communication reached out to me yesterday and indicated that she wanted to come today to make a statement on that. Meanwhile, I drew her attention to the fact that she is supposed to appear before us on Monday.
“So the understanding was that she would come on Monday instead and then do it all together. So members be assured that this will be done on Monday. So she will be here,” Afenyo-Markin stated.
Meanwhile, the NCA says telecommunication engineers are working to restore damaged fibre cables providing data services to Ghana and other West African countries affected.