The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has provided data to prove that overwhelming majority of investment in fibre optics in Ghana happened under the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), following a recent lecture on Ghana’s digital economy by Dr. Bawumia, claimed that the New Patriotic Party’s digitization drive has benefitted from investment made by the erstwhile Mahama government in fibre optics.
But speaking at the closing ceremony of a retreat for heads of government institutions in Kwahu Nkwatia over the weekend, Dr. Bawumia provided evidence from the National Communications Authority (NCA) to expose the claims of the NDC as outright lies.
Data the Vice President provided from the NCA on investment history and NCA license of fibre optics in Ghana proved that over 80 percent of Ghana’s total fibre optic investment happened between 2017 and now, under the Akufo-Addo government.
Breaking down the data to the board chairpersons and CEOs, Dr. Bawumia asked them to always arm themselves with facts in order to expose the lies of the NDC.
“Recently, for example, we had an issue come up after the lecture I gave in Ashesi University on digital transformation. The NDC came out and said John Mahama had made all the investments in fibre optics and we are benefitting,” Dr. Bawumia said.
“I said wait a minute, I can’t remember any investment by John Mahama in the fibre optic space so I called the NCA and I said give me the data on fibre optic investment in Ghana. It was very interesting when the data was provided.
“NCA has provided six fibre optic licenses since Ghana began. The first was provided under [former] President Kufuor, which was volta com. Of all the six, five were provided under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP. So under the NPP since 2017, we have provided licenses for 5.”
Dr. Bawumia further provided figures to show that the biggest fibre optic investment in the country has happened under the Akufo-Addo government.
“The total number of fibre optic network in Ghana that has been licensed by the government is 6,343 kilometeres. What the NPP government has licensed of that 6,343 since 2017 is 5,610. That is 88.4%. This is data and it is data that is in possession of us. We have to make that data clearly.
“How can we provide 88.4% of fibre optic investment in Ghana and you say our digitization is riding on your investment, when we even started the whole process in 2007?”
Below is a breakdown of NCA’s six fibre optic licenses.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana