The Minority in Parliament has accused the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Hon. Samuel Nartey George, of mismanaging Ghana’s telecommunications sector and pursuing a dubious, non-transparent agenda to hand over state-owned AT Ghana to Telecel.
The Minister’s inconsistent actions and reckless pronouncements, the Caucus said, have destabilised the industry, diminished AT’s value, and plunged its management and workers into uncertainty.
Addressing journalists in Accra on Wednesday, Ranking Member of the Information and Communications Committee, Martin Nyindam, alleged the Minister has run amok with pronouncements that have caused chaos in the telecom sector and loss of revenue to AT.
According to him, the Minister’s lack of corporate governance manners has not gone unnoticed.
The Caucus recalled that in 2021, the Akufo-Addo government acquired AT — formerly AirtelTigo — for $1 to protect over 500 jobs and maintain competition in the telecom sector after Airtel and Tigo merged but failed to sustain operations. The government’s goal, they noted, was to preserve Ghanaian ownership and secure critical digital infrastructure.
It said the previous government had already developed a plan to recapitalise AT, and through Deloitte Ghana, shortlisted investors — including Hannam & Partners, Celsation, and Afritel — to inject private capital. Afritel and its partner Rektron later pledged an initial $150 million investment, rising to $1 billion within five years, to modernise AT’s operations.
“Rather than build on this, the Minister has sabotaged the process,” they alleged. “He backtracked from the Rektron deal and instead began pursuing a merger with Telecel, which owes over $400 million and has failed to honour previous investment promises.”
The Ranking questioned why the Minister would reject Rektron’s billion-dollar proposal and instead endorse a $50 million network upgrade from Telecel and accused him of conflict of interest, citing Telecel’s sponsorship of the Homowo Festival in his constituency soon after the merger announcement.
“This raises serious questions about his motives. We take notice of his newfound relationship with Telecel and the alleged private gains the deal presents,” the caucus added.
The Minority warned that merging AT with Telecel would erode competition, harm consumers, and jeopardise more than 10,000 jobs linked to AT’s operations. They also cautioned that the move could disrupt the World Bank-funded $50 million Digital Infrastructure Venture Project, which relies on AT’s network.
“This unholy alliance will rob Ghanaians of choice and cripple fair competition. AT must be safeguarded as a national asset, not handed over for private benefit,” Mr. Nyindam stressed.
The caucus demanded an immediate suspension of the proposed merger, a parliamentary inquiry into the deal, and full disclosure of all agreements and advisory reports.
“We will not sit idly by while a critical national asset is sold off in secrecy. AT must remain in Ghanaian hands to protect jobs, digital sovereignty, and competition in the telecom sector,” he added.
