Communications Minister to set up Committee to fix high data cost in Ghana

Minister of Communications Samuel Nartey George has announced plans to establish an inter-ministerial committee aimed at examining and addressing the high cost of data in Ghana.

The move is part of his broader commitment to making internet services more affordable and accessible to all citizens.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, February 8, the minister revealed that he had already directed the Communications Ministry’s management to initiate the process. The committee is expected to be formed within the next 14 days.

“Yesterday, I met the director and management of the ministry, and I’ve given them the running order. Hopefully, within the next 14 days, we’ll be setting up an inter-ministerial committee to look at the cost of data,” Sam George stated.

The minister-designate reiterated his dedication to lowering data costs and assured Ghanaians that they would begin to see tangible changes before the end of the year.

“At my vetting, I said that it is my fervent belief that before the end of this year, we should see some movements in the data offerings,” he noted.

He emphasised that his approach to policy-making would be based on collaboration and consultations with key stakeholders, including telecom operators and industry regulators.

Sam George explained that even before formally announcing the initiative, he had engaged telecom CEOs to discuss the feasibility and strategies for reducing data prices.

He assured that his leadership would focus on ensuring industry buy-in before implementing policies.

“Even before I sat at my vetting to announce this as policy, I had engaged all the telecom CEOs. I’m going to be a minister who will engage industry. I won’t announce a policy without engaging industry and getting their buy-in,” he stated.

The minister described his leadership approach as a reset for Ghana’s digital economy, aiming to foster greater cooperation between government agencies and telecom service providers.

“I told them, it’s a new dawn. It’s a reset. And so I engaged personally every single chief executive and the chamber as well to get their understanding of what I want to do and secure their buy-in before announcing it,” he added.

The high cost of data has been a significant concern for many Ghanaians, with consumers and businesses alike calling for more affordable internet services.

Sam George said, for starters, it has been identified that 80% of the operational cost of tower companies is from power alone, which finally feeds into the pricing the industry players finally pass on to consumers.

He believes an engagement with the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) for instance, can yield some dividends in terms of a lower power cost regime for the industry, so that they can also lower cost for consumers.

The minister said there are a number of models that can be considered, either the consumers pays less for same amount of data they are getting now, or pay the same amount but for more data than what they are getting now.

The formation of the committee is therefore expected to bring forward recommendations that could lead to regulatory adjustments, pricing reforms, and enhanced competition in the telecommunications sector.

Sam George believes that the speed with which he is determined to deliver on the data cost issue means Ghanaians can expect to see some shift on data prices within the next few months.

He also promised to provide the telcos everything they need to deliver good quality service, adding that if they fail to deliver on their KPI he won’t hesitate to apply the necessary sanctions.

Source: Emmanuel Nkansah || Techfocus24