NPP defends rural telephony record, demands status report from government

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has dismissed allegations that prior governments neglected rural telephony investments. The party asserts that substantial development in this sector occurred under the previous administration via the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project. In a statement by Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the NPP's Policy Coordination Committee Chairman, the party clarified that the project kicked off in 2020, not 2022 as previously claimed.

The NPP explained that the €155 million initiative from China EXIM Bank aimed to establish 2,016 sites to bring connectivity to between three and four million people in underserved and unserved areas. They highlighted that this expanded upon an earlier project that built and activated 430 rural telephony sites from 2017 to 2018, reaching approximately 700,000 people.

The NPP further stated that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government significantly amplified the project, leaving 1,961 sites constructed by the end of the January 2025 transition. They also claimed to have equipment sufficient to deploy an additional 400 sites stored. Consequently, the NPP refuted claims of underinvestment in rural telephony during the previous administration.

They challenged the assertion that some sites built in 2024 were unconnectable, citing the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT's satellite hub as evidence. The hub was upgraded and equipped to provide backhaul services to 46 remote communities, with the unconnected issue attributed to administrative and commercial matters, not technical limitations.

The NPP is now urging the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations and the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) to release a detailed report within 30 days on the current state of the rural telephony program. The report should cover operational sites, remaining equipment, the satellite hub, and plans to upgrade the network to 4G.

The NPP also requested that the Ministry and GIFEC brief Parliament’s Communications Select Committee on the program's status, emphasizing their focus on ensuring rural communities receive dependable telecommunications services and are kept informed about the resolution of connectivity gaps.