Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin wants Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful to brief Parliament on the controversial Kelni GVG revenue monitoring agreement with the government.

The deal between Government of Ghana and the ICT company has been criticised as needless and not in the interest of the nation.

Civil society groups, the Centre for Democratic Development and the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) are set to join forces with policy think tank IMANI Africa to push for the abrogation of the deal.

The issue dominated public discussions in Parliament on Thursday, prompting Alban Bagbin to move a motion for the Communications Minister to brief the House.

“It’s appropriate to call on the Minister of Communications to appear before the whole House to give a brief on this issue. [The issue has] gained a lot of currency in public discourse and as the Majority Deputy Whip said, there is nothing to hide.

“It is proper that this be brought to the people of this Republic through their representatives on the floor of the House,” Mr Bagbin said.

He further directed the Business Committee of Parliament to schedule a date for Mrs Owusu-Ekuful to appear before the legislators.

Resistance

President and Founder of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, and his team kicked against the $89 million deal between the government and the ICT firm.

The think tank says after perusing preliminary documents, its verdict is that the agreement lacks financial sense.

Mr Cudjoe said recently that “what we are dealing with is a grave matter” wondering why government had to enter into such a deal with a company he said used to deal in the “export of cement and tomatoes.”

“Let’s not make it as if the system is needed, no,” he exclaimed, cautiously suggesting that the deal was fraudulent.

Longstanding controversial deal

In 2010 the Ghana Revenue Authority contracted Subah to oversee revenue assurance activities within the telcos.

The company received 75 million cedis for what critics say was payment for no work done.

Later in 2015, Afriwave was appointed by the NCA to perform the job of an interconnect clearinghouse services which was similar to the job being done by Subah. They were also paid an amount of 40 million cedis.

In 2017, the NPP government is now contracting a new foreign company to do the same, if not similar job.