The Attorney General has been petitioned to within two weeks cause a review of the 10-year contract between Afriwave Telecom Ghana Limited and the National Communication Authority (NCA).
Controversy erupted when Afriwave Telecom Ghana Limited was awarded a 10-year contract to build and operate an Interconnect Clearing House contract (ICH) with industry players calling on the NCA to with immediate effect, review the contract and if possible abrogate since “it is a needless enterprise”.
A local think tank, IMANI Ghana, had claimed that the NCA fraudulently skewed the process to favour Afriwave Telecoms in the award of a licence for an Interconnect Clearing House (ICH).
IMANI Ghana said the NCA accepted and evaluated bids for the licence to operate a clearing house for the telecommunications industry from five companies and chose to give the licence to Afriwave although there were more competent companies to execute the contract.
An allegation which was refuted by the NCA.
The rebuttal from the NCA notwithstanding, many of the industry players have still called on the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to cause investigations into the circumstances that surrounded the award of the contract to Afriwave.
The latest to join the calls for probe into the Afriwave contract is the Brong Ahafo Regional Youth Organiser of the NPP, Kwame Baffoe, also known as Abronye DC.
The controversial communicator of the party have in a two-paged petition addressed to the Attorney General, NCA and copied to Afriwave Telecom Ghana Limited has called for a review of the contract which would span 10 years.
The petitioned cited four instance of perceived fraud in the award of the contract including claims by the petitioner that “NCA failed to take into consideration that Subah Info Solutions was rendering for same services for and on behalf of the government at a low cost.
The tender board committee, Abronye DC stated in the petition manipulated the contract figures in favour of Afriwave Telecom Ghana Ltd.
“Officials at NCA and the former Director General [of] NCA did not take into consideration the huge sum of money i.e GHS 3.5 million every month for only report on traffic volumes and revenues, an indication of clear dereliction of duty,” the third point in the petition stated.
“NCA allowing Afriwave Telecom Ghana Limited to be paid Ghs 0.5 per every SIM card replacement. What it means is that if one looses it SIM card and you want same to be replaced, Afriwave will collect 50 pesewas, another dubious point in the contract under reference.”
Kwame Baffoe contended in the petition that ‘the build and operate ICH ten years contract with Afriwave was signed without taking into consideration the general interest of Ghanaians.
“I do contend that the contract between NCA and Afriwave Telecom Ghana Limited contains a lot of fraud and irregularities and having regards to the fact that the previous Parliament that passed Legislative Instrument governing the Interconnect clearing house failed to take into consideration the import of the Financial Administration Act and the Electronic Act 2016.
Kwame Baffoe further threatened to ‘seek legal redress at the Supreme Court within two weeks upon receipt of this petition if immediate processes are not taken to review the dubious and fraudulent contract between NCA AND AFRIWAVE TELECOM GHANA LTD.’
Below is the full petition:
Attorney General petitioned to review Afriwave’s 10-year ICH contract with NCA
-