Should govt go ahead with the GT sale?
July 19, 2008
The Sale of GT to Vodafone has been halted by parliament following immense public criticism of the deal.
Government explains that GT is in need of massive investment and better management to save it from collapse while critics insist it can raise the needed investment from the Ghana stock exchange or a consortium of banks and hire the needed expertise.
Government sources also hint that the state is in need of urgent cash to pay for crude oil imports following a hike in global crude prices hence the urgent need to complete the sale.
Critics however say that government is selling off the nation’s strategic telecommunication’s asset and for too small a value. Critics also say the sale of the nation’s fibre optic infrastructure (which holds immense potential for the future of telecoms in the future) amounts to selling our eggs.
Parliament on Friday night failed to ratify the deal pushing it back till October when the house reconvenes.
Do you think the sale of GT amounts to selling our eggs?
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28 Responses to “Should govt go ahead with the GT sale?”
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why should the government conceive the very idea of selling something so valuable to the nation. government should look for other alternatives in solving their financial problems and stop relying on proceeds from the sale of ghana telecom. if even they do not experince the negative impact of their decision the future generation of the country will. lead by example, that is the only way to woe support for the up coming elections
The Govnt should go on with the sale because the top management are abusing the company’s funds.They also put a square peg in a round hole ( this means only relatives of top management are employed regardless of their qualification ).Most workers are not strickly supervise like MTN and TIGO,meaning the attitude of top management right down to floor worker are drawing the company back.Private investors should come to change these attitudes for the company to go on.
the sale of GT to me is not a ver good idea because for an organisation to grow, it needs proper management so what i think the governmant should do is to lay off all the top management staff and relplace them with new and compitent ones.
Did i hear the staff of GT says they will work harder now, if that is the case they should all be sacked.
I HONESTLTY T HINK GT SHOULD NOT BE SOLD.I GET THE IMRESSION THE PROBLEM WITH IS A MANAGEMENT ONE.I SAY THIS COZ IF THE WORKERS OF GT WHO MAY BE LAID OFF AFTER THE SALE ARE SAYING THAT THEY ARE READY TO WORK HARDER IF THEY ARE MAINTAINED,IT LAYS CREDENCE TO THE FACT THAT THE PROBLEM IS THAT OF SQUARE PEGS IN ROUND HOLES.THEY NEED TO BE SACKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KOJO, PLEASE ORGANISE AN OPINION POLL ON WHETHER GT SHOULD OR SHOULD NOT BE SOLD.I BELIEVE THIS WILL GIVE THOSE INDIVIDUALS AHO ARE HELL BENT ON SELLING A TREASURED NATIONAL ASSET FOR PITTANCE A FAIR IDEA OF WH@ DISCERNING GHANAIANS THINK OF THE SALE. MAYBE, AND JUST MAYBE, THEY MAY CHANGE THEIR MINDS.
i dont against the sale of ghana telecom but the timing is very wrong. the current have been left with five months tentively but in reality is less than five months because they need some time to prepare their handing over notes, why is the government not leave the decision to the next goverment in january and concentrate on puting finishing touches to whatever that they have done for past seven and half years. for me what can they do within this four or five months left ? nothing
GT should definately be sold. other agencies like ghana post, ssnit and gh railways should all be privatised. its about time ghanaians sat up- just as we do abroad- whenever we work.
if these companies were in the hands of private persons, the owners would definately not tolerate inefficiencies and sloppy attitude of workers- as is rife in GT. the government has every right to enforce some of these decisions if it is realised th agency is underperforming.
why do we find it so hard as ghanaians to enforce disciplinary actions whenever workers fall short of expectations. if we intend to go anywhere as a nation, then lets tell gov’t workers ( GT workers inclusive) in the face, that we should be prepared to work for our wages ! ! !
how come we are never late to check on our salaries at the end of the month, but then reporting to work on time seems like such a tedious task? if selling GT is what will make it deliver, why not ! ! !
Those who think govt shares in GT should not be sold should remember what happened to the state farms popularly known as ‘akukofoto’ at dansoman, Ghana airways, the railways among others. The best would be to manage theses assets on our own but consider the attitude of the ghanaian. Its so bad! Some claim ‘we can do it’ but you give it to them to do and they mess it big time.
I think the shares should be sold. Thats the way out. If we allow those ‘konongo kayas’ among us to have their way the story will be the same or worse.
IT IS TIME WE GHANAIANS LEARN HOW TO MANAGE STATE PROPERTIES THAN ENTRUSTING THEM INTO THE HANDS OF FOREIGNERS.KOFFOUR FORGET ABOUT SELLING GT.THIS TIME NO PERCENTAGE FOR U.MANAGEMENT THEY SAY IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS,SO KUFFOUR DO WELL TO LEARN HOW TO MANAGE.
yes! selling of GT is just like selling our eggs. Gov’t should learn to lay off the acake staffs in the government set-ups and employ the hot young managerial staffs who are ready to take the government entity’s as their own. Gov’t should also learn how to manage.
I am seriously against the sale of our one and only National Telecom, rating it so low as Makola Goods, oh Ghana, oh NPP,oh Kuffour, it seems their time is due.
in economics there is no theory that supports big companies swallowing small ones. economics frowns agains monopoly. big companies must not swallow small ones for ‘ konkontiba benyin adane aponkyerene’ GT can grow with time to compete with the world communication giants. I COMMAND THE GOVERNMENT TO ABORT, DELETE, AND WIPE OUT THE IDEA OF SELLING OUR PROUD GT. vodaphone has the money and expertise so what? how old is vodaphone? their government stole our resources to build their industries during the collonial times. no to neo collonialism. GOD SAVE MOTHER GHANA.
LETS STOP THE SALE OF NATIONAL ASSETS.
The current difficulties GT is undergoing primarily is due to poor management structure and control.The panacea to this issue is not the sale but to restructure the system and put in place the right and sensitive people to control affairs.Dont let us forget that Vodaphone is coming into this deal with a business interest and would of course sway everything to their side.Let us seat up and deal with management of GT.
The sale of GT to me is very necessary and this action needs to be expedited to save the ailing company from total collapse.
What are the GT workers saying? that they should change their attitude? Ebeei Ghana we are in serious trouble so they know their attitude towards the company is not the best and they can only change their attitude when the white man becomes their boss, I agree with Ato Kwamena Dadzie 100% we need the Queen back.
HIRE MANAGERS OF mtn TO MANAGER IT. THE GHANAIAN MANAGERS.
Kojo,
What is all those glorious songs that GT Rep was trying hard to sing. As for Asa Bee he is just a poor rep of a public relations guy, boring everyone with his arogance and typical taxi driver atitude to communicating with others.
If management is that efficient and capital ejection has been the bane why is Govt shying away from all the suggestion of raising the capital from the Stock Exchange. Doesn’t that put the Company in the hands of Ghanainan as well as solve the problem of liquidity. There is something very non-transparent about this deal. Why is the persistency in giving it to the sole sourced Vodaphone at all cost? Has money already changed hands under the table? LISTENING GOVERNMENT! Heed the call and admonision of the ruled for once please.
Steve, East Lego
Hi Kojo
How much did the govt spend on the award medals.It could have easily been invested in GH Telecom.Our leaders must sit up and sacrifice for the nation. You are doing a great job keep it up.
I think it will be in our best interest as a country to offload the 70% shares of GT to vodafone.It does not mean we are selling our eggs.GT at the moment is onthe veg of collapsing so why not give another company that can manage it efficiently.
Kojo do you think the British are short minded like us? they are strategist in all their dealings. so the sale of GT is not to our favour if even it was 1% percent to them. Besides if they had adopted this go international attitude do you think they would reach where they are now? certainly no!
why don’t we learn from China, Japan, Koria, Malaysia among others. Let us build self recognition than the international syndrome that is becoming a plague on us.
if gt is a good network why is it that a lot of ghanaians are on foreign networks? let it go to vodafone for it to be efficient so that we all be patrotic and migrate there.thanks.
Dear Kojo,
Before i make any comments of my own, i would love to make an observation. Which looks into the comments of some “ladies”, like Constanse, Frances and Efua to just to mention a few.
And you may ask, why did i sample only the views of ladies?
I would honestly tell you why. It is a fact that the hen has the sole business of laying the eggs, so also are women (ladies) the natural caretakers of any society Ghana inclusive.
Efuas’ view on the issue varied to a large extent to that of the rest not to say that the comments of both Constnce and Frances did not matter but took stance, which i would decribe as, far-left and the woman in the middle.
And i would love to collaborate the view point of Efua, by saying we are not selling out our golden eggs as it has been described to look like.
The questions i would love answered is about the prcie o the entire sale itself?….
comments to be continued….
Gov. shd go ahead and sell gt. Ghanaians have a bad attitude towards work especially when it is gov work, go to some pravate inst. workers clock in and they are paid according thier productivity. People get paid for work not done. sell sell
rhoda-cantonments
how on earth should the government of ghana sell GT? the sale of state property has gone on for sometime now still the nation is not progressing. we are told that the state needs only 130 million dollars badly to salvage the much trumpeted improved economy from collapsing.
mr. government told us in plain language that ghanaians in abroad alone contribute 4 billion dollars to this fragile economy every year so they should be given the chance to register and vote wherever they are ( do you remember ROPAL), if indeed it is true that they help the economy that much then they should be given the chance to invest in Gt.
what mr government has failed to understand is that if you decide to selL your clothes for food you will soon go naked, a word to a wise …………………………
Hi Kojo,
It is my believe that the problems facing GT now started long ago partly, better still, mainly from managerial incompetencies with the GT’s administrative system. People in government authorities who have the power to probe the system on time and have things straightened up sat down and watched. Now, what started as managerial incompetencies has developed into financial challenges. Take it from me that if GT is sold today, the whole of this problem will later develop into nation security problems. I am carrying out some personal research into its threat to national security and I will let you know of my findings when I am through.
The sale of GT is in the right direction. Business all over the world is changing and companies like GT need dynamic and strategic guys to handle the company to be able to compete with other telecom companies in the country. Gone are the days when the govt used to handle everything. Ghanaians should be lucky to have a foreign company coming to invest in the country. All what we the citizens must do is to contribute ideas to parliament for them to come up with a sale agreement that will contribute favourably to the economy (social and political).
The govt should be freed from some responsibities that can easily be delt with by others so that she can concentrate on or schools and hospitals.
I think i was good that GT was sold since as Ghanaians we tend not to value what is ours
The attiatude of the staff in most govt owned industries in quite appalling
They behave as though we the public is privelleged to have them working thee whilst forgetting that it is because of us that they are there
Once they know theyy are not working for a fellow black man they are willing to make all the sacrifices.
Selling of gt is not the only way of solving Ghana’s financial burdens. Its hightime we check on the management of GT