The much anticipated debate on the controversial deal on the sale of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone has failed once again to come on leading to a suspension of the deal. The suspension follows the failure of the Joint Committee on Finance Communication of Parliament to lay the report on the deal between the government and Vodafone before the House. The House which rose on Friday, July 18, 2008 for recess was expected to debate the bill on Thursday but it postponed the debate to Friday when the bill would have been ratified. But the sale has now been suspended indefinitely. The Majority Leader of Parliament, Mr. Abraham Osei Aidoo said members of the House needed some time to study the report and make informed debate on the deal. He said members of the House may be recalled during recess to consider the bill and other important bills. He rejected suggestions that the government bowed to pressure. According to him, if the report had been laid early enough to enable members study it, the bill would have been passed. He said the suspension will allow adequate time to study the report and make useful contributions to ensure that the deal is well refined. Reacting to concerns that government had gained notoriety for pilling up bills and trying to push them through on the last day of sitting of a session, Mr. Aidoo said the practice was bad. He however stressed the need for the House to be well resourced in order to effectively deal with issues before the house. Government entered into a deal with Vodafone to offload its 70 per cent shares valued at $900 million. But the deal was vehemently opposed by opposition political parties and civil society organisations who saw it as unprofitable deal. They argued the sale of GT to a foreign company amounted to a demonstration a lack of confidence in the Ghanaian. Alhaji Asuman Banda a business magnate detests the very idea of the sale. "it is better to mismanage ourselves than to allow somebody to manage us",he said. But government argued the sale was necessary to save the company which it said was in debt. Story by Malik Abass Daabu