Phone companies pay 56.83 million dollars as license fee

An amount of 56.83 million dollars was realised as license fee from cellular phone operators as at December 29, 2005, Prof. Michael Ocquaye, Minister of Communications told parliament on Tuesday when the House reconvened for the last session for the year.

"The National Communications Authority has since monitored the payment of the amount by the operators to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning," he said.
The Minister was responding to a question from Mr Haruna Iddrisu, MP for Tamale South.

The MP had asked for how much was paid as licensing fee by cellular phone operators in the country and how the fee was disbursed. Responding to another question from Mr Iddrisu on the number of expatriates working with the Ghana Telecom Company (GT) and how much each of them was paid per month, the Minister said there could be only 11 expatriates at GT presently.

"Mr Speaker, GT had 25 expatriate staff.Under a new management service agreement concluded on 25 October, 2006 the maximum number of skilled expatriates staff who could be at post has been reduced to eleven.


"With regard to the contract fee payable to each expatriate staff, the Ministry has requested the Board of GT to compile the details and the Chairman of the Board has promised to deliver by 15 November 2006," he added.


Prof Ocquaye, in answer to another question, told the House that 251 out of 485 schools representing 52 per cent have been provided with telecommunication services.
Mr. Joseph Labik, member for Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo, had asked about how far the programme on extending telecommunication services to all towns and secondary schools had gone and when two schools in his constituency would benefit from
the programme.


The Minister said where telephone facilities have been provided in towns but had not yet been extended to the secondary schools in the town, a connection system known as the "last mile solutions" would be pursued to get them connected.


Earlier, Mr Boniface Gambilla, Upper East Regional Minister, told the House that the creation of the Talensi/Nabdam district and the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly and the determination of the boundary of the two administrative areas along the Tongo-Beo electoral area was one of the major factors that contributed to a conflict between two communities in the Talensi Nabdam district in the Upper East Region.


The Minister was responding to a question on findings of a committee set up last year to look into the Tongo-Beo communal clash and what was being done to resolve the conflict.


He said the committee had completed its investigations and submitted its report.
He said among the findings was that the area was sitting on a time bomb, which could explode


if immediate solution was not found. The Minister said he had set up a three-member committee to sensitise the people in the area by applying "accepted traditional norms for conflict resolutions using aspects of their culture."


"The committee is also mediating with the two communities to resolve all minor differences before the main committee's recommendation can be implemented."


"A meeting of all opinion leaders, the chief of Tongo-Beo, the Chief of Gonno and all their elders with the youth of the two communities is planned to takeoff in November to prepare the ground for the implementation of the committee's recommendation," Mr Gambilla said.