The controversy over the proposed sale of Ghana Telecom to British Communication giants Vodafone continues unabated, with opposition political parties objecting to the sale. A group of CPP members who called themselves the concerned citizens of Ghana on Thursday petitioned parliament, to declare in no uncertain terms their disapproval over the sale of the facility. Naa Kordi Asemeh Spokes person of the group in her petition said the sale of Ghana Telecom was a “betrayal of the independence ideal that the black man can manage his or her own affairs”, adding that the sale represented nothing short of a give away. Describing the sale as undesirable and unscrupulous, Naa Asemeh further criticised the practice of rushing bills through Parliament by the Executive, saying the practice did not allow due diligence before bills are passed into laws. A member of the group Dr. Nii Moi Thompson was even more ruthless with his criticisms. In an interview with Evans Mensah on News Night on Joy, Dr. Thompson said it appeared government signed the document without reading it. “Government for that matter Parliament had been kept in the dark on the issue. They seem not to be aware; in fact it appeared they signed the document without reading it” He made reference to the purported sale of the fibre optics to Vodafone for a period close to a 1000 years, something government admitted was an error. According to Mr. Thompson the agreement was still fraught with so many inconsistencies and unfavourable conditions which were not in the interest of the country. Dr. Thompson rubbished a projected $500 million investment by Vodafone into Ghana Telecom saying there was no guarantee that could compel Vodafone to make those investments. Dr. Thompson referred to the Malaysian agreement in which government spelt out clearly what penalties they could incur if they failed to meet set targets. This Mr. Thompson said was not present in the Vodafone agreement. The passionate Economist said government had been deceived into selling national assets on previous occasions hoping that the foreign investor might invest, but that had not materialised. “The government had recklessly off loaded state assets to foreign investors with the misleading expectation that they (foreigners) will invest in that; they did that with the Kumasi shoe factory where the so called strategic investor failed to invest and rather rented facilities to Ghanaian businesses.” Dr. Thompson stressed Dr. Thompson advised government to build the confidence of its people and tasked the state to collect monies owed it by the then Areeba now MTN. The Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament Mr. Kojo Armah on his part confirmed moves towards amending the purchase of the fibre optics and other technical details. In an attempt to draw him into the controversy, Evans asked if he had any objections to the deal, but the Chairman stayed clear of the ongoing debate, saying he would put the national interest as the bench mark in taking a decision. With barely twenty four hours left for Parliament to go on a break the big question is will the agreement be ratified? Author: Nathan Gadugah