The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has challenged Communications Minister Sam Nartey George’s account of the previous administration’s performance on rural telephony, calling for detailed data on the current status of the national project.
The party’s Policy Committee on Communications and Digitalization is demanding a comprehensive breakdown of sites constructed, connected and currently operational under the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, and signed by the Committee’s Chairman, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the NPP disputed claims that the previous administration failed to make sufficient progress in expanding telecommunications services to underserved communities.
The statement comes after comments by Mr George at the Government Accountability Series press conference at Jubilee House on Monday, September 7, as well as during an inspection of rural telephony sites in the Eastern Region on Friday, September 4.
According to the Committee, the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project was launched in 2020 under GIFEC, contrary to claims that it began in 2022.
It said the project was backed by a €155 million China EXIM Bank facility and implemented with Huawei and the China National Technical Import and Export Corporation.
The approved programme was designed to deliver 2,016 sites, with the capacity to extend connectivity to between three and four million people living in unserved and underserved communities.
The Committee said the first site under the programme was commissioned in November 2020.
It also pointed to an earlier rural connectivity phase undertaken between 2017 and 2018, during which 430 sites were constructed and activated through partnerships with private-sector operators.
That phase, it said, provided connectivity to about 700,000 people who previously lacked adequate telecommunications services.
The NPP Committee further claimed that by the time the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration handed over power in January 2025, the rural telephony programme had reached an infrastructure footprint of 1,961 constructed sites, with equipment available for another 400 sites.
“The Akufo-Addo and Bawumia administration therefore expanded rural telephony coverage from a low base in 2016 to an infrastructure footprint of 1,961 constructed sites by the time of the handover of government in January 2025, together with equipment in stock for the deployment of a further 400 sites,” the statement said.
“That is the baseline this administration inherited.”
Satellite connectivity
The Committee also rejected assertions that some of the sites constructed in 2024 could not be connected because of technical limitations.
It said the satellite hub at the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT had been upgraded and tested to provide backhaul connectivity for 46 sites located in hard-to-reach communities.
According to the NPP, the hub was procured under a valid contract and had additional capacity beyond the 46 sites.
It maintained that the affected communities were technically reachable but remained without service because the contracted satellite hub service had not been activated and paid for.
“The 46 communities concerned are not unreachable. They are unconnected because the contracted hub service has not been taken up and paid for,” the Committee said.
The party therefore described the issue as an administrative and commercial matter rather than a technical obstacle.
NPP raises concerns over current deployment
The Committee also questioned the pace at which the rural telephony programme has progressed since the change of government in January 2025.
It claimed that no new rural telephony site was constructed in 2025, despite equipment for approximately 400 additional sites being handed over to the current administration.
It further argued that the current pace of deployment made it unlikely that all outstanding sites would be completed before the end of 2026.
The NPP also alleged that a larger proportion of the sites that had already been constructed and activated were now non-operational compared with the situation at the time of the January 2025 handover.
It, however, invited the Ministry to correct any inaccuracies with verifiable data.
“If any of these positions is inaccurate, the Ministry is in the best position to correct the record with data, and we invite it to do so,” the statement said.
Supports 4G upgrade
The Committee said it supports the government’s proposed move to upgrade rural telephony sites to at least 4G.
It said infrastructure and equipment deployed under the previous administration were designed to allow for upgrades to 4G technology.
However, it urged the Ministry to first prioritise communities where infrastructure has already been completed, equipment is available and services have been discontinued or remain inactive.
The Committee warned that focusing on upgrades before completing existing deployment commitments could leave communities without any connectivity waiting even longer.
“Our concern is one of sequencing. A community that has no service at all gains nothing from a decision about whether it should eventually receive 3G or 4G,” the Committee said.
“An upgrade programme that runs ahead of completion of the existing programme risks leaving the citizens with the weakest coverage waiting longest.”
NPP sets out information demands
The Committee has given the Ministry and GIFEC 30 days to publish detailed information on the programme.
Among other things, it wants a regional and district-level breakdown showing which sites have been constructed, connected and are operational, as well as those that have been built but remain out of service.
It is also demanding a deployment timetable for the equipment handed over for the additional 400 sites, including their locations and expected completion dates.
The NPP wants clarity on the contractual and operational status of the satellite hub at the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, as well as a decision on when the 46 sites linked to the hub will be connected.
It is further seeking details of the proposed 4G upgrade, including its sequencing, cost and financing, and assurances that the upgrade will not delay the completion of outstanding sites.
The Committee has also called for a briefing to Parliament’s Select Committee on Communications.
It said it was ready to provide its technical and handover documents to the Ministry and Parliament’s committee if requested.
“Our interest is a working rural network, and we will engage constructively with any credible plan to deliver one,” the statement said.
The NPP said it would continue to monitor developments and expects the Ministry to provide the requested data to establish how many communities have been connected and how many are still awaiting service.
