Tamale South Member of Parliament Haruna Iddrisu wants the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, dragged to Parliament over the purported sale of Vodafone Ghana for less than $100 million.
The former Minority Leader said he wanted to find out from the Minister whether it is true that Vodafone, a $1 billion asset of the Republic of Ghana, has been sold on credit for less than a $100 million.
“I want the leader of government business and business committee to programme the Hon. Minister for Communications to come and respond to this house whether it is true that Vodafone, a $1 billion asset of the Republic of Ghana, has been sold on credit for less than a $100 million and what the state of that transaction is as an economic transaction within the meaning of Article 185 of the 1992 Constitution,” he said.
We need to interrogate sale of Vodafone to Telecel – Sam George
He also wants the Minister to explain the state of Ghana’s telecom industry as a whole.
“Probably to also update this house on the whittling away of Ghana’s telecom landscape and its strength,” he said.
It would be recalled that in January this year, Vodafone Plc agreed on a sale of its operations in Ghana to Telecel Group, as the British telecommunications giant looks to refocus on key markets.
According to Bloomberg, the London-listed company will sell its majority stake in Vodafone Ghana to Africa-focused Telecel, subject to certain conditions, a spokesperson for Vodafone said in an emailed statement.
Vodafone entered Ghana in 2008 when it paid the west African county’s government $900 million for 70% of Ghana Telecommunications Co. The government retains a 30% holding in the business.
Telecel plans to help fund the acquisition by later offloading the Ghana business’s mobile towers, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.
Vodafone agrees to sell stake in Ghana operations to Telecel
A representative for Telecel confirmed the talks with Vodafone, but declined to comment further.
Nick Read, Vodafone’s chief executive officer, has been focusing the group on Europe and Africa as he streamlines a sprawling operation that once extended from its Newbury, England headquarters all the way to New Zealand.
In Africa, Vodafone has been steadily consolidating interests under its sub-Saharan subsidiary Vodacom Group Ltd., of which it owns 60.5%. Vodafone explored a sale of its Ghanaian business to Vodacom in early 2021 and, while that deal did not materialize, transfered a 55% holding in its Egyptian operations to the group later in the year.
Founded in 1986, Telecel operates in more than 30 countries and employs over 700 staff, according to its website. The company has a history of growth through acquisitions, having struck deals in Gibraltar, Liberia and Mauritania in recent years.