By Godwill Arthur-Mensah
Accra, April 10, GNA – Since the purchase of the telecom firm, AirtelTigo, about five years ago, it has been saddled with monthly losses of GH₵20 million while the debt is over $200 million, the sector minister said on Wednesday.
Mr Samuel Nartey George, the Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, said the previous government’s decision to purchase AirtelTigo, after a debt re-structuring, was “ill-informed and unpatriotic.”
He said the New Patriotic Party-led Government made a symbolic payment of just one dollar for AirtelTigo, (now AT Ghana), at the time whilst the company’s debt portfolio was $400 million.
Mr George, during a news conference in Accra, criticised the NPP Administration’s failure to carry out proper due diligence, which left the company in a “failing and obsolete” condition.
Although the debt had been restructured to $200 million, the company continued to post monthly losses of around GH₵20 million.
He stated that the revenue generated by the state-owned telecom company was not sufficient to cover its operational expenses.
AirtelTigo’s core billing and network systems had not been upgraded in five years and were no longer fit- for- purpose, the Minister said.
He noted that the Ministry was in talks with its creditors to reduce the debt burden and support the company to become financially viable.
A new policy direction, Mr George added, would be announced soon to protect jobs and chart a path for the company’s future progress.
GNA
ABD