The Akufo-Addo government is facing scrutiny for reportedly awarding the contract to roll out a 5G network in Ghana by the end of 2024 to NextGen InfraCo Limited, a company only one week old.
The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, confirmed and justified the deal at a press briefing in Accra on Thursday, May 30, 2024.
She stated that there was nothing wrong with offering the contract to NextGen, as it was created specifically to deliver this service due to the absence of existing “neutral infrastructure companies” capable of doing so.
Earlier on Monday, investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni detailed the contract on Facebook, highlighting issues with the deal.
He noted that President Akufo-Addo granted executive approval for the 5G deal to NextGen just a week after the company was created, raising serious procurement concerns.
The journalist shared a supposed document from the Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation, showing that President Akufo-Addo granted executive approval for the project on August 22, 2023.
“His Excellency the President granted Executive Approval on 22nd August 2023 for the introduction of 5G through the establishment of a neutral, wireless open access network to promote a vibrant telecom market in Ghana, further to a report presented to the President earlier that year,” part of the document reads.
See the post and the documents below:
