Telecoms Industry Overtaxed

Ebenezer Amankwah

Over-regulation and over-taxation in the country’s telecommunications industry is crippling the sector, Ebenezer Amankwah, Corporate Communications Manager at Vodafone, has stated.

Mr Amankwah, who was speaking at a roundtable in Kumasi recently to highlight challenges facing the telecommunication industry, mentioned that six telecos were competing for space and attention from 27 million Ghanaians.

“The high and multiple taxes, combined with inflexible policies, are making things really hard for operators,” he stated.

According to him, owing to the current situation, the National Communications Authority (NCA) must create the right conditions for telecommunication companies to thrive, adding that the imbalance in the market share was also not helpful for competition.

He therefore asked that the problems be resolved to create a level-playing field.

Mr Amankwah said Vodafone Ghana has for the past seven years invested $1.7 billion to strengthen its operations and upgrade its network infrastructure.

Vodafone, with a 23 percent market share of the market, employs 1,500 permanent workers and about 300 people on contract basis.

He said his outfit had experienced significant increase in the number of subscriptions from 1.5 million in year 2008 to 7.3 million, hinting that Vodafone would continue to roll out innovative products to expand its market share.

Nana Yaa Afriyie Ofori-Koree, Foundation and Sustainability Manager at Vodafone, said her outfit would continue to undertake its corporate social responsibility to ensure that they give back to society.