Industry News

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accra, 20 March 2020: The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GCT) has expressed willingness of its members to support the Government of Ghana and other key stakeholders in the nation’s quest to combat the outbreak of the novel corona virus (COVID-19)

The COVID-19 global pandemic, which has been recorded in Ghana, continues to spread and disrupt everyday life.
It is imperative that Ghanaians stay connected, and as an industry, we reiterate our readiness to support government, businesses and our customers in leveraging on the power of telecommunications for the greater good of our society.

To this end, we have proactively engineered and enabled a number of activities aimed at complementing Ghana’s efforts to fight the corona virus.
• Institutional partnerships with the Ministries of Communications, National Communications Authority, Ghana Health Service, Bureau of National Communications, National Security to broadcast emergency communications using our network infrastructure to educate the general public
• Working with the above-mentioned institutions to route all calls to the Covid-19 emergency numbers at no cost to the public.
• Collaborating with the Bank of Ghana to implement free mobile financial services transactions within certain bands to promote digital forms of payments and augment social distancing which will reduce the rate of new infection.
• We continue to give a lot of education to our staff at all of our offices and branches. We have provided hand washing facilities, sanitizers and protective gear for our staff among other initiatives in a bit to curtail any spread of new infections.
• We have put in place plans for our staff to work from home to guarantee service availability at all times to facilitate seamless service provision to everyone
• Zero-rating critical websites that provide Covid-19 awareness and safety protocols.
• Offering further packages for identified educational, and related websites as well as other critical Government of Ghana portals that offer essential services to citizens
• The industry fraud team is equally working assiduously to fight coronavirus-related fraud and misinformation on our networks.

“As an industry we wish to assure the general public that one of our primary priorities is to ensure the provision of service availability and the resilience of our networks and services as we begin to experience increasing demand for voice, data and mobile financial services.” said Ing. Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, CEO of GCT.

Kenneth added, “We are working closely with our Regulators and sector Ministry to ensure the adequate controls are in place to guarantee service availability, which can support customer experience for the larger population during these times.”

Finally, the Chamber entreats the general public to refer to the Ghana Health Service website for relevant information and updates, maintain social distancing, practice respiratory hygiene and wash hands regularly.

Media Contacts:
For the Chamber�
Derek Laryea
derek@telecomschamber.org
+233302730500

Yasmin Buari, a third-year student at the University of Ghana Medical School, has praised Vodafone for giving her financial and technical support throughout her senior high school (SHS) education.

Yasmin is one of the beneficiaries of a three-year scholarship programme, which was introduced by the Vodafone Ghana Foundation to help increase the pool of females in the science, technology and engineering industry.

The scheme sponsored the education of 300 brilliant female students in over 80 senior high schools across the country between 2014 and 2019.

Sharing her experience, Yasmin said “Vodafone’s scholarship programme helped my parents and I a lot when I was in the senior high school. I attended various science camps and mentoring programmes where we were given hands-on training in coding and robotics, as part of the scholarship. We were told to uphold higher academic standards, which also helped in my admission into medical school. I would like to thank Vodafone and British Council for that wonderful initiative.”

Commenting on the initiative, Gayheart Mensah, Director of External Affairs at Vodafone said “We are excited that our scholarship programme provided the foundation that has empowered 300 females who are pursuing careers in the medical, engineering and other related disciplines. We believe that females can play a significant role in addressing the technology and engineering challenges in the country, and this is one of the initiatives we introduced to help decrease the high attrition rate of women in this area.”

Vodafone’s scholarship programme was introduced in 2014, in partnership with the British Council, to help bridge the gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) by increasing females’ involvement in these subjects in Ghana.

The package, catered for the tuition fees, learning materials and educational expenses of the beneficiaries for their three-year secondary education.

Source: businessghana.com

Monies in dormant mobile money accounts and accounts of deceased customers will remain accessible to their owners and families without any restrictions, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, has said.
Mr Ashigbey explained that electronic money issuance was backed by cash which were kept at universal banks to provide some form of guarantee for deposited funds and help ensure that monies kept in electronic wallets were safe. “This makes it impossible for anybody’s money to be abused at all’, he said.

Mr Ashigbey was reacting to rumors suggesting that mobile money service providers were withholding monies in dormant accounts and monies belonging to deceased customers, according to a statement issued by the Chamber on Tuesday.

Law backed

He said the Payment Systems and Services Act clearly stated how dormant accounts should be treated and that made it unlawful for service providers to go contrary to it.

“According to Article 33 (4) of the Act, electronic money issuers are required to treat MoMo accounts which have not registered a transaction for 12 consecutive months as dormant accounts and the operators would remind customer on the 11th month through an SMS so if there is no transaction in the 12th month, the account would be suspended and the account blocked but the balance of the dormant account is transferred along with identifying information to a separate account with any bank designated by the Bank of Ghana for a period not exceeding three years,” Mr Ashigbey said.

He explained that after the three years period, if the holder of the account or the executors of the deceased person did not make a claim, the service provider shall transfer all the funds to the Bank of Ghana or an institution designated by the Bank of Ghana and retain all identifying information.

Next of kin entitlement

In that same breath, Mr Ashigbey explained that at the registration stage of opening a mobile money account, a provision was made for customers to identify their next of kin for future purposes.

“At the registration of mobile money, one of the know your customer (KYC) that our providers ask for is your next of kin. This is required by all of our members and even so, allow those who have not provided their next of kin to update their detail. During the on-board system, you are required to provide the name and contact number of your next of kin. And that is constantly being taken.

“Additionally, next of kin is not static and clients can update them as often as they desire to change who their next of kin is,” he said.

He further explained that when a customer died and the family sought to make claims, they were required to provide proof of death which is a death certificate, and that the family member must prove to be the rightful executor of the estate of the deceased.

“So, you would have to provide a copy of the will of the deceased. However, if the person died without a will, that is, died intestate, you have to provide letters of administration from the court and provide an ID of the executors of the estate of the deceased.

“It is based on this that the MoMo operators, after they have established the death of the clients, and the fact that you are the rightful executor of the estate, will make available the balance on the account for distribution to the rightful beneficiaries of the estate,” he said.

He explained that the process was no different from that of other financial institutions who also required by law similar processes to make claims on the funds of deceased family members.

“It is not a different process from what pertains for any financial services. In as much as we want to ensure that genuine beneficiaries of estates have access to the funds of their benefactors when the unfortunate incident of a death occurs, we also as law abiding organisations will want to prevent fraudulent access to our customers funds.” Mr Ashigbey said.

Source: Daily Graphic

MTN Ghana has reiterated its commitment to support young people’s businesses to thrive by providing them with cutting edge services the industry can offer.

Mrs. Adwoa Baah Afrakoma Obeng, the Acting General Manager, Northern Business District, who gave the assurance, said MTN as a business believed in youth empowerment and entrepreneurship and would continue to offer them the needed support.

She was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the Kumasi edition of the 2020 Springboard Road Show held at the Calvary Charismatic Centre in Kumasi.

This year’s event which focused on career, finance and property was attended by young professionals as well as tertiary and second cycle students in the Metropolis.

MTN Ghana has been partnering the Springboard Road Show for the past 12 years to mentor and provide career guidance to young people as part of its vision to support youth development across the country.

Mrs Obeng said through the Springboard, MTN was able to connect with young people to inspire them to greater heights and was convinced that the company had impacted many lives over the years through that partnership.

“We recognize the fact that the Springboard reiterate our mission of making our customers lives a whole lot brighter and if you critically examine, what springboard does is to bring meaning to lives of people,” she emphasized.

She observed that the Springboard was also in line with the company’s vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world, considering the technology and entrepreneurship bit they add to their presentations.

She acknowledged the level of thinking and depth of knowledge that young people possessed in terms of business ideas and assured them of tailor-made digital, data and mobile money services to meet their business needs.

MTN, she noted, would continue to partner the Springboard Foundation to impact the lives of the Ghanaian youth to adequately prepare them to take over the leadership of the country in the near future.

“If we have a strong successful youth we can be sure that most of the current social vices we are battling would be a thing of the past,” she stated.

Mrs. Comfort Ocran, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Springboard Road Show Foundation, urged the participants to envision where they wanted to be in the next ten years and progressively pursue the goal with passion.

She said they should be precise with what they wanted to achieve and be focused, adding that, they would face a lot of obstacles but they should remain resolute.

They must also find themselves accountability partners who would check their progress to ensure they were on track.

Source: GNA

 

One of the country’s leading telecom operator AirtelTigo has launched new “Unlimited Call Bundles” to make life even more simple for its customers and enable them to call their family and friends without worrying about depleting airtime.

The new unlimited call bundles have been designed after extensive research and feedback from customers, who highlighted the need for bundles that last longer and gives greater value.

With the new comprehensive bouquet of unlimited bundles, AirtelTigo’s existing and new customers can enjoy unlimited AirtelTigo calls with bundles that last as long as six months – a first of its kind in the industry.

Very attractively priced, at just GHS20 for 6 months, GHS12 for 3 months and GHS10 for two months, GHS6 for 1 month and GHS4 for 15 days, customers should dial *111# to subscribe any of the bundles.

Explaining the rationale behind the new unlimited call bundles, the Chief Marketing Officer at AirtelTigo, Atul Narain Singh, said: “In our constant quest of making consumer’s life simple, we provide innovative products that give more value to our customers and improve their experience.”

He added: “With AirtelTigo, consumers can always expect more value for their money.

Source: Ghanaweb

The MTN Ghana Foundation has cut the sod for construction work to commence on a Blood bank facility for the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH).

The 300,000 cedis project expected to be completed within four months, would have a reception area, office for registration and interview, bleeding room, laboratory, and fridge room for blood storage, a storeroom and a washroom.

Speaking at the sod-cutting, Mr Samuel Koranteng expressed the hope that the availability of a blood bank facility would help provide enough blood for emergency cases and also reduce maternal mortality due to obstetric haemorrhage.

He indicated that investing in sustainable projects consolidated the vision of the company to brighten the lives of its customers in the communities in which it operated.

He mentioned that the MTN Ghana Foundation through its numerous projects had made a significant contribution to the delivery of health care across the country.

Mr Koranteng implored the hospital to provide the needed assistance to the contractor to ensure that the project was completed as scheduled.

Mr Eric Ngyedu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CCTH said the hospital required appropriately 8,000 units of blood annually to be able to satisfy its internal and periphery needs.

The CCTH, he noted had the responsibility as a major teaching hospital to spearhead the agenda of getting the required blood needed to save lives.

The hospital would embark on an intensive blood donation exercise to stock the facility when completed. He expressed gratitude to the MTN Foundation for the support a worthy cause.

The CEO stressed that the re-development of the hospital for quality of care also included re-development of the blood bank.

In a related development, the MTN Foundation in collaboration with the CCTH organized a blood donation exercise as part of activities to mark this year’s Valentine Day celebration in Cape Coast.

The exercise, an annual initiative under MTN’s Save a Life Campaign is aimed at stocking the national blood bank.

Three hundred and sixty (366) units of blood were realised at the end of the blood donation exercise at the CCTH and Adisadel College.

Source: Ghanaweb

 

To show love to humanity on Valentine’s Day, Vodafone Ghana embarked on a tree planting exercise across the country to protect wildlife and preserve oxygen.

The trees would filter water bodies, provide habitat to terrestrial biodiversity, absorb harmful carbon from the atmosphere, and serve for medicinal purposes.

Over 3,000 trees were planted on a 15-acre land at the Achimota Forest and other parts of the country by staff of Vodafone Ghana, the Forestry Commission and the Ghana International School (GIS).

Vodafone Ghana also gave each staff seedlings to plant around their homes to enhance the effects they want on the environment.

Mrs Patricia Obo-Nai, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vodafone Ghana, said Vodafone felt the need to embark on a planet-saving initiative that guaranteed the survival of lives.

The exercise was in line with Vodafone’s commitment as a business, to stand for things other than profit, as part of its Purpose-Led agenda, she said.

“Our remit as a company goes beyond just making profits. It is our belief that this tree-planting project will inspire Ghanaians and other organisations to start thinking about the planet and how they can also contribute,” she added.

Mrs Obo-Nai said forest lost was one of the major causes of Climate Change, and the biggest environmental challenge facing everyone as a result of its adverse impact on food production, water availability, wildlife and human health.

She believed if every Ghanaian decided to plant and grow one tree, the country would have 20 million trees to reverse the forest depletion.

“This is why we are giving employees seedlings to grow at home and in their backyard, as part of this project.”

The Chief Executive said Vodafone had other planet saving initiatives for the year such as the “Handset Recycling Initiative”, where it would encourage customers to submit old and obsolete phones at any Vodafone retail shop for the company to properly dispose or recycle them.

“We are also gradually fading out single-use plastics from Vodafone’s offices and retail shops. The campaign, which started barely a week ago, has already changed the culture across Vodafone’s operations. Today, you will realise that instead of giving bottled water, which will be disposed after usage, we decided to come with water dispensers,” she noted.

Mrs Obo-Nai said trees were a crucial factor to human existence not only because they produced food; but also because they played an important role in the carbon cycle.

Mr Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, the Executive Director of the Forestry Commission, popularly known as “Sir John”, commended Vodafone Ghana and GIS for the initiative.

He gave the assurance that the Commission would support Vodafone to ensure that the trees planted were well maintained to grow well.

He appealed to other organisations, religious bodies, communities and social groups to visit the Commission for trees to plant to promote a green and healthy nation.

“Four acres means 60 plots of land and Vodafone didn’t just come to take a small portion to grow trees for records and leave. They took the biggest land portion here to grow trees and we really do appreciate their zeal to contribute to national development,” he said.

Mr Afriyie believed the step would bring back the cover of the Achimota forest and reinstall it into its old state.

Mrs Angela van der Puije, a Special Education Needs Coordinator of GIS, said her school was passionate about helping to protect the environment through best practices and eradication of land degrading activities.

It was for this reason, that they partnered Vodafone to contribute their quota to Ghana’s wildlife development.

Source: GNA