The Convention People's Party says it is against the sale of the Ghana Telecommunications Company, GT. Government is seeking parliamentary approval for the sale of 70 percent GT shares to UK-based Vodafone. In a statement by the party’s Communications Directorate, dated 10TH July, 2008, the party urged all well-meaning Ghanaians to oppose the NPP government’s impending sale of the 70.0% shares. The CPP recalled that when the NPP was in opposition, it “repeatedly criticised the government of the day for violating one of the cardinal principles of public finance and selling state assets to support its budgets. “That argument still stands today. Revenue from asset sales represents one-off sources of financing that provides only temporary financial relief and thus is neither sustainable nor reliable. We call upon the government, therefore, to find more sustainable sources of revenue, such as compelling mining companies to pay taxes on imported equipment – the same way small-and-medium scale Ghanaian-owned businesses are required to pay taxes on such imports. “ Read the full statement: CPP opposed to sale of Ghana Telecom In keeping with its long-standing opposition to the indiscriminate disposal of strategic national assets, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) calls upon all well-meaning Ghanaians to oppose the NPP government’s impending sale of 70.0% shares in Ghana Telecom to a foreign “strategic investor”, Vodafone. There are two main reasons why we believe this sale must not go through: (1) It lacks economic merit and will, in the long run, cost the state far more than the paltry US$900 million it is receiving for the sale, and (2) The notion that only foreigners can effectively manage our affairs is offensive to our dignity as human beings and undermines the CPP’s cherished belief that “The Blackman is capable of managing his own affairs.” A casual look at GT shows that the company is capable of generating profits far in excess of its sale price, if only we would emplace proper management that is free of political interference and is publicly accountable to Ghanaians. Currently, no such system exists and the company’s politically induced problems are then packaged as evidence of Ghanaians’ inherent inability to manage their own affairs. The failure of the Malaysians and Norwegians to turn GT’s fortunes around shows that mere transfer of ownership or management to foreigners will not solve GT’s or Ghana’s problems. It is time to look within ourselves. Currently, Ghana Telecom owns One-Touch mobile services, has near monopoly over fixed lines, dominates broadband services, and has a major share of the internet backbone, SAT-3. Assuming, conservatively, a combined subscriber base of 2,000,000 and daily average net revenue per subscriber of US$3.00, GT can easily make US$2.2 billion per year, or US$11.0 billion in five years, far more than the US$500.0 million investment being promised by Vodafone. Experience also teaches us that “sweet heart” promises foreign investors after buying national assets are seldom honoured. AngloGold’s lavish promises to invest in deep-shaft mining in Obuasi, for example, are yet to materialise, five years after they bought Ashanti Goldfields; the Czech “strategic investor” who bought the Kumasi Shoe Factor did not only fail to invest in it but turned around and rented out the premises to local businesses and other clients, including the government of Ghana! To our shame, the government is now contemplating buying back the factory and giving it to the Kumasi Shoemakers Association. Belatedly, we discover the ability of Ghanaians to manage their own affairs. We must also remember that large foreign investments are often made in exchange for tax exemptions that run into hundreds of millions of dollars. This means that the net benefit to the Ghanaian government will be substantially less than the US$900 million offered by Vodafone. The CPP and Foreign Investors We must reiterate that the CPP does not oppose the participation of foreign investors in Ghana ’s economy. Indeed, in the Party’s 7-Year Development Plan, liberal provisions were made for foreigners desiring to invest in Ghana. We continue to believe that foreign investors have a role to play in our development, alongside their Ghanaian counterparts. However, we prefer that such investors add to our productive capacity and not take undue advantage of existing capacity developed by Ghanaians. The Way Forward When the NPP was in opposition it repeatedly criticised the government of the day for violating one of the cardinal principles of public finance and selling state assets to support its budgets. That argument still stands today. Revenue from asset sales represents one-off sources of financing that provides only temporary financial relief and thus is neither sustainable nor reliable. We call upon the government, therefore, to find more sustainable sources of revenue, such as compelling mining companies to pay taxes on imported equipment – the same way small-and-medium scale Ghanaian-owned businesses are required to pay taxes on such imports. In addition, we urge government to aggressively pursue and prosecute large companies which consistently evade taxes through under- and over-invoicing practices that deprive the state of millions of Ghana Cedis in revenue. Unless such long-term and sustainable measures are taken, we shall sell every state asset without raising enough money to finance our development. We would be the worse for it as a nation. Released by; The Communication Directorate