Kwakye Ofosu exposes Bawumia on Ghana’s digital infrastructure

Former Deputy Communications Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu has issued an open challenge to Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia to specify specific investments in Ghana’s digital infrastructure over the last seven years.

He finds Dr. Bawumia’s self-acclamation as a pioneer in changing the sector false and worrisome.

Mr Kwakye Ofosu, citing verifiable facts, stated that the Vice President must be held accountable for his repeated false claims intended to mislead Ghanaians ahead of the 2024 elections.

“Digitalization is a product of evolution of the technology industry that depends on solid foundation” – Mr Kwakye Ofosu who was speaking on NDC360, a political talk show designed to set the records straight and educate Ghanaians on John Mahama’s policy initiatives ahead of the 2024 elections, explained.

He stated that in order to increase Ghana’s competitiveness in the global market, President John Mahama took aggressive initiatives to capitalize on technological innovation to create economic possibilities and strengthen governance.

Speaking during the ‘Lest We Forget’ segment, Mr Kwakye Ofosu described Dr Bawumia’s assertion that the Nana Akufo Addo-led administration had done far better than any government since independence by issuing more licenses for fibre optic networks as false.

“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.” – the Vice President claimed as he addressed a retreat for heads of government institutions at Kwahu Nkwatia in the Eastern region in November 2021.

But Mr Kwakye Ofosu, who is also the parliamentary candidate for Abura Asebu Kwamankese in the Central region said that is completely misleading because it begs the critical issue of interest.

“Dr Bawumia is simply displaying ignorance. His narratives suggest he is setting his own questions and awarding himself high marks. Its like working at DVLA and claim you also have a car because you have licensed a car” – he added .

“Its a verifiable fact that John Mahama has made the biggest public investment in critical digital infrastructure, that’s fibre optic cables. He built a 1000km Rural Fibre Network from Accra to Bawku, a 300km radius Metro Fibre Network with the capacity to offer WiFi and ICT services to millions of Ghanaians and businesses within the enclave and an LTE/4G network with over 119 Base Stations to provide internet connectivity and a network backbone to support government institutions (Ministries, Departments, Agencies)” he emphasized.

The Rural Fibre Network, for example, connects six regions (Accra, Volta, Oti, Northern region, North East, and Upper East) via more than 26 districts and 100 settlements.

This network not only supplied internet and voice call services to millions of Ghanaians, but it also enabled research, teaching, and learning at institutions such as the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS).

He also stated that John Mahama created the largest Tier -3, 600 Rackspace Data Center in West Africa, located in Accra, as well as another 45 Rackspace backup.

Mr Kwakye Ofosu went on to say that the claim that just six companies have been given terrestrial fibre optic cable permits is untrue.

“There are 13 licensed companies licensed in Ghana. Of these eleven are active Vodafone Ghana. These include Glo Mobile, Scancom PLC (MTN Ghana), Millicom Ghana Ltd (Tigo), Aitel Ghana Ltd, Comsys Ghana Ltd, National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Internet Solutions (IS), C-Squared, MainOne, Spectrum Fibre Company Ltd, Ghana Grid Company Ltd” – he added.

Mr Kwakye Ofosu, who challenged the NPP and Dr Mahamadu Bawumia to produce evidence, stated that as a key actor and former Deputy Communications Minister, he provided additional evidence with dates on when each of the companies received their operational licenses, some dating back as far as February 2004.