Sam George warns foreign investors against AirtelTigo takeover without parliamentary approval
Sam Nartey George
Sam Nartey George, the Deputy Ranking Member on the Communications Committee, has issued a cautionary message to investors, particularly foreign interests, advising them against pursuing any potential acquisition of AirtelTigo without obtaining the necessary approval from Parliament.
Read full articleHe asserts that any such takeover by foreign investors should be treated as an international agreement, subject to oversight by Parliament.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Sam George, emphasised the need for the Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekufful, to promptly present any deal to sell AirtelTigo to Parliament. He warned foreign investors to exercise caution, stating that any agreement deemed to acquire assets belonging to the Ghanaian people without parliamentary approval would be considered null and void in the country's courts.
Mr. George highlighted the clarity of the Ghanaian Constitution, stating that if an international company buys state assets, it must come to Parliament for approval.
“If you are selling AirtelTigo to an international company, it must come to this house. We saw President Kufuor sell Vodafone, he came to this house. Ursula Owusu cannot become law unto herself and so we would expect and as a committee, we will demand same that she must respect the directive of Mr. Speaker, and come and brief the committee on issues involving the status of AirtelTigo and any potential deal,” he said.
He also raised concerns about the debt AirtelTigo owes to a tower company in the country, amounting to nearly GH₵200 million, and questioned the implications for the tower company if the debt is not paid and whether it would be transferred to taxpayers.
"I know that AirtelTigo has debts on its books in excess of $100 million. So if you are selling AirtelTigo to somebody and the debt is in excess of $100 million, what is the value of the assets and then what is the value of that debt? Are you selling the company with the assets and liabilities, or are you just selling the assets alone, without the liabilities? Then who takes over the liabilities? Because those liabilities have to be settled. AirtelTigo owes banks, they owe service providers like the tower companies," Sam George said.
