Government has set up a five-member committee to review the sale of its 70% stake in Ghana Telecom to UK-based Vodafone Plc. The committee is expected to make recommendations to Government for onward submission to Parliament. The Communications Minister Haruna Iddrisu announced this in London at a meeting with top officials of the company, including David Venn, the new chief executive of the Ghana operations. The minister said the move is to ensure the deal was transparent, and consistent with the pledge of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the electorate to review the deal. The party promised in its manifesto and on several campaign platforms during the run-up to the 2008 elections to investigate the sale of GT when it assumes power. The approval of the deal sparked a lot of debate in Parliament and in the media with the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) then in government arguing there was no underhand dealings. Mr Iddrisu chronicled a tall list of items the investigative committee will examine in the sale agreement. The committee will investigate why there was an indemnity clause in the sale agreement which insulates individuals involved in the deal from prosecution. It will also determine whether there were better offers that were ignored by the Kufuor administration. The committee is also expected to investigate the inclusion of the national fibre optic backbone in the sale agreement. The current government deems the fibre optic component as an infrastructure that should remain a national asset. The review committee will also look into the disbursement of some $228 million from the account of GT as well as the decoupling of the Ghana Telecom University (GTUC) from Vodafone Ghana. The huge liability of GT prior to the sale and why none of those liabilities were undeclared during the sale are some other crucial issue to be considered. The committee will also ascertain the true owners of the 70% share of the new company, whether there are some other parties in the deal who were not mentioned. The labour rationalization package that requests workers to voluntarily resign will also be reviewed. Also on the agenda of the committee is a review of the reason why transaction advisors to the GT sale, Ecobank Development Cooperation (EDC), was suspended and whether monies due the company have been paid. The review committee will also investigate the tenure of Telenor as managers of GT. Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com