Manasseh Raises Concerns Over Government Awarding 5G Contract to Newly Established Firm

Manasseh Azure Awuni, an investigative journalist, has voiced concerns regarding the government’s decision to award a lucrative contract for Ghana’s 5G infrastructure project to Next Gen Infraco Ltd.

In a recent post on X, Manasseh shared documents revealing that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo approved the contract on August 22, 2023, just one week after the establishment of Next Gen Infraco Ltd.

Raising questions about the lack of competitive bidding, Manasseh emphasized the importance of transparency and fairness in such contracts, especially considering the significant value of the 5G technology.

“The company that has been handed the deal was formed less than a week before the president’s approval. The 5G technology, according to industry experts, can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Why is it being handed to one company without an auction? Why were different companies not allowed to bid for the contract?,” Manasseh wrote.

He also highlighted concerns about the track record of a company formed shortly before receiving such a substantial contract and questioned its relationship with Smart Infraco.

However, Minister for Communications and Digitalisation Ursula Owusu-Ekuful defended the government’s decision, stating that Next Gen Infraco Ltd. was specifically established to undertake the 5G rollout.

According to the minister, no existing infrastructure company had the capacity to manage the roll-out of the 5G network services at the time the contract was awarded. Therefore, Next Gen Infraco Ltd. was chosen as a special purpose vehicle to deliver the service.

“This is a special purpose vehicle, and once the government took the decision that we will use a neutral infrastructure company to deliver this service, there is no existing neutral infrastructure company that can deliver it at the moment,” Ursula Owusu-Ekuful explained.