Deputy Information Minister Sylvester Tetteh has explained why the government decided to sole-source the country’s 5G operations to one company. Sylvester Tetteh explained that it was out of the need to ensure maximum benefit that the government decided to use sole-sourcing.
He explained that the last time the government auctioned such a project, 4G, the nation was yet to get the benefits, nearly 10 years after the implementation. As a result, the government decided to create a fair field for all industry players by creating a special-purpose vehicle to oversee its execution.
“We auctioned our 4G in 2015 and till now, we have had only 15%t penetration for 4G usage and mainly in the city centre, so the rest of the country where we are promoting digitalisation and inclusion has been left out of the 4G space. So if you have done this for nine years and you have attained only a 15% penetration rate, then there is a problem,” Sylvester Tetteh stated.
According to the MP, based on the experience, the government decided not to go for those who have money but who can deliver to everyone.
“Now we are going for 5G and are you going to auction it for the highest bidder or whoever qualifies to run it? The person picks it and plays off everybody from the industry, yet we don’t get the necessary benefit from the 5G. So the government says, no, we are not going to auction it, we will own part of it, and all the industry players should own part of it. So this special purpose vehicle was put together by all the industry players.”
Since news broke of the award of a 5G license to NGIC to operate, many have doubted the credibility of the process. Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni first revealed that the company was formed a week before it was awarded the contract.
Though the government has explained that it is a partnership involving multiple companies, Telecel, AT, Radisys, Ascend Digital, Tech Mahindra and Microsoft, many have doubted the transparency of the process that led to the awarding of the contract.
