All telecommunication companies operating in Ghana have been given a 48-hour ultimatum effective yesterday October, 22, 2018 to plug into the Kelni GVG revenue assurance and monitoring platform or face sanctions in accordance with the law.
The directive was issued by Communication Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful following the official launch of the Common Platform by President Akufo-Addo.
“I urge all mobile network operators to cooperate with the National Communications Authority and the Ghana Revenue Authority and KelniGVG and provide the information they need to monitor… Failure to do so within the next 48 hours will result in the imposition of sanctions prescribed by Act 864,†she said.
The launch of the platform was delayed by several months after some citizens and civil society organizations (CSOs) including IMANI Ghana dragged the Communication Ministry to court, arguing that the deployment would infringe on citizens’ rights to privacy among other concerns, but the court threw out the initial injunction application.
Before the Communication Ministry’s ultimatum, President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo inaugurated the National Communications Authority’s Computer Emergency Response Team, and the Revenue Assurance and Traffic Monitoring Centre, also known as the “Common Platform“.
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Describing these projects as “essential building blocks for the realization of Government’s vision of a digitized Ghanaâ€, President Akufo-Addo noted that, for him, these projects signify more than that.
“They represent key milestones in our nation’s journey towards becoming well-resourced, self-reliant, and efficient and secure, within the context of cyberspace, telecommunications traffic management, and revenue assurance,†he added.
With Government having spent the last 21 months of its stay in office implementing a number of initiatives aimed at driving the country’s digitization agenda, the President indicated that “it is critical that we deploy the appropriate instruments to secure our nation, our people, our businesses, and our way of life.â€
President Akufo-Addo, therefore, commended the National Communications Authority and the Ghana Revenue Authority for taking steps to guarantee the revenues of government, and, also, ensure that regulators and telecommunication operators work together to this end.