Private legal practitioner and Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Etsi Dafeamekpor, has disclosed his intentions to injunct the processes seeking to award a 5G network contract to NextGen InfraCo.
The MP says the contract which did not go through competitive bidding is even worse than sole sourcing since the conditions surrounding it do not even meet the requirements of a sole-sourced contract.
His comments is in relation to government’s award of a 5G contract to NextGen InfraCo, a company established one week before it was given the contract, raising eyebrows for people to question the transparency in the deal.
Speaking on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, June 01, 2024, he noted that “when I am aggrieved, I do not take a bow and arrow, I know where to go. We’ll litigate this matter. We need to injunct the process. It has to be halted. We can’t allow this to pass.”
Meanwhile, Communications and Digitalisation Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, had earlier confirmed that NextGen InfraCo, the company awarded the 5G network rollout contract, was established just one week before receiving the contract.
Madam Owusu-Ekuful explained that the company was specifically created for this purpose because there was no existing neutral infrastructure company capable of handling the rollout at that time.
At a press briefing on the 5G rollout Thursday, May 30, 2024, she elaborated on the government’s rationale for the decision.
She noted that auctioning the contract was not pursued due to previous experiences and setbacks that had hindered the rollout of the country’s 4G technology. Since its introduction in 2015, 4G has only achieved a 15% nationwide penetration.
The Minister highlighted that the challenges faced during the 4G rollout influenced the government’s approach to the 5G deployment.
According to her, by directly awarding the contract to a newly created entity, the government aims to avoid similar obstacles and expedite the implementation process for the 5G network.
The Ablekuma West Member of Parliament provided insight into the government’s strategic decision-making process, emphasising the need for a dedicated infrastructure company to ensure the successful and timely rollout of 5G technology across the country.
“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.”
“So, it had to be specifically formed for the purpose of delivering this service based on the strategic policies and decisions of the government, and it is borne out of our experiences and that is why we chose not to auction it,”she stated.
This confirmation coincides with concerns raised by investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni regarding the contract awarded to NextGen InfraCo Ltd.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, May 30, Mr. Awuni pointed out that the company was incorporated barely a week before President Akufo-Addo granted executive approval for the deal.
According to him, the contract, which experts estimate to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, was awarded through sole sourcing, without giving other companies the opportunity to bid for the project.
He maintained that the lack of competitive bidding raises suspicions about the transparency and fairness of the procurement process.
