Ghana telecoms pays tribute to late President

TELECOMS

By Nana Appiah Acquaye, Accra, Ghana

As the late president of Ghana is laid to rest today, the telecommunications fraternity together with other stakeholders in the telcoms industry continues to pay their tribute to the man they described as the father of the local telecoms industry.

NCA Mourns H.E. Prof. J.E.A Mills

The National Communication Authority (NCA) has also joined other government agencies and corporate bodies in the country to pay its tribute to the memory of the late President of Ghana - Prof, as he was affectionately called. According to a statement issued on the official website of the authority, the late president was personable, humble, kind and warm. “He was the embodiment of love and concern for his family, friends and the entirety of Ghanaians.

Prof was a very pleasant personality who combined hard work with credible and amazing brilliance and this endeared him to all who came into contact with him,” it added.

It continued that the communications fraternity would forever be grateful to President Mills for facilitating the enactment of new legislation which promoted the provisioning of high quality communications services nationwide and at competitive prices.

“We, at the National Communications Authority, mourn the demise of a great President, a hero, a perfect gentleman and a true loyalist to his country. We are however consoled in the knowledge that a good man will die but his name will forever remain among the living, while at the same time reminding ourselves that in the end, it is not the years in your life but the life in your years that makes the difference,” the statement said .

The NCA noted that the late president set a high benchmark for leadership and played the role of an enviable unifier- a visionary, a selfless leader, a scholar, a distinguished teacher, an accomplished intellectual, an eminent lawyer and a worthy and true Statesman, which made a great impact on the lives of many people. The statement ended by saying “We will miss him the most during this electioneering period, because he will not be around to call us “ my brothers and sisters” nor will he speak in his ever soothing tone admonishing us all to be peace loving.

MTN sends condolences

In another development, top executives of the MTN Group have also sent their deepest condolences to the President and people of Ghana on the demise of Prof. JEA Mills. In a statement issued in Accra,  Michael Ikpoki, CEO of MTN Ghana, said that Ghana and Africa had lost a great man and one of Africa’s fearless leaders, who dedicated his life to the service of the people and expressed his condolences to the bereaved family and the national at large.

”I express my deepest and sincere condolences at this time of national grief.  I personally recollect my encounter with His Excellency when I assumed office in Ghana last year.  His warm reception remains in my memory.”

It intimated that as an African multinational, MTN believes this is a sad moment not only for Ghanaians, but for the entire continent of Africa. President Mills’ belief in African unity and the African’s ability to be self-dependent remains cherished by all.

Ahmad Farouk, MTN Group Chief Operations Executive, added: “I received the sad news of the passing of His Excellency, President John Atta Mills with a most grave heart. I can only imagine the sense of loss all Ghanaians are feeling at this time. Please accept my sincere condolences as I commiserate with all of you and indeed all Ghanaians at this trying time.”

Sifiso Dabengwa, MTN Group President and CEO, said: “The President’s work and dedication to the Republic of Ghana was an excellent example of his firm commitment to the defence of liberty and human dignity. He will be remembered for being a staunch supporter of the economic integration and interdependence of African countries.”

NCR hails President Mills’s record in the telecoms sector

The Network of Communication Reporters (NCR) has touted the late president Mills’s record in the telecom sector and called for a continuation of his policies in the telecommunications sector as a tribute to the late President.  The Dean of the Network, Charles Benoni Okine, in a statement issued in Accra, said: “news of the President’s death on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 came to us as a shock and we express our deepest condolences to the former first lady Dr. Mrs. Ernestina Naadu Mills and the family of our late President.”

It acknowledges the immense improvement the telecom and ICT sector witnessed under the watch of the late President, noting that during this time, the industry regulatory environment improved with the National Communication Authority (NCA) had become more consumer focused than ever.

The statement said the successful implementation of the SIM Registration policy, and Mobile Number Portability system, which has given the power of choice to the subscriber, are examples of remarkable improvement in the regulatory environment.

The network also noted that the implementation of the fixed levy on all incoming international calls was also remarkable, given the huge additional revenue of over USD150 million it had generated for this country since June 2010.

“We note with delight that under the watch of the late President, the country’s e-governance project took off with a USD150 million dollar contract awarded to Huawei to provide last mile infrastructure for the delivery of broadband access nationwide,” it said.

NCR also lauded the late president for continuing with the one laptop per child policy, which has seen scores of children across the country getting access to ICT for the first time in their lives.