Government might not renew deal with Malaysians - Minister
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 December 2001 - The government said on Tuesday it might not extend the Technical and Consultancy Services Agreement (TCSA) with Telekom Malaysia, minority shareholders of the divested Ghana Telecom (GT) because the company failed to perform satisfactorily.
However, Telekom Malaysia would be given the option to retain its 30 per cent shares in GT or decide otherwise, Minister of Communication and Technology, Felix Owusu-Agyapong told a press conference in Accra.
The five-year agreement, which was signed with the former government ends in February 2002. It gave Telekom Malaysia management control of the company.
He said the government would not endorse the transfer of additional 15 per cent shares to the Malaysians as initiated under the previous government, adding that at best, it would consider an amount of 50 million dollars purported to have been paid for the said shares as a loan.
Mr Owusu-Agyapong, who gave an overview of the entire divestiture process of GT and the conditions under which TM was brought in, said a lot of wrongdoings was discovered.
He said based on the discoveries he initiated meetings with the Malaysians and had reached an agreement with them to renegotiate some of the terms. These included composition of the GT Board to make it reflective of the equity representation, capital injection by the strategic partner as well as a review of the status of other partners.
The Minister said while the negotiating team was waiting for a draft to reflect the new proposals, the media in Malaysia filed a story alleging that President John Agyekum Kufuor had refused to acknowledge all deals and business that they entered into with the former government.
Subsequently, it became clear that the Malaysians sought to frustrate the discussions by revisiting certain conditions including a 100 million-dollar loan they were seeking from the IFA and the conclusion of the 15 per cent additional shares.
Other condition were the extension of the TCSA, extension of the exclusivity period for TM and Westel and reassessment of a 64 million-dollar penalty imposed on GT by the National Communication Authority.
Mr Owusu-Agyapong said TM acted in bad faith by introducing these issues as conditions for the new agreement adding that they were insisting too much on their legal right.
"They can take their pound of flesh but no blood," he declared. He said the government was determined to ensure that Ghana advanced inInformation Technology.
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