On October 23, 2018, Nana Akufo-Addo (photo), Ghanaian president, inaugurated the common platform for telecommunications supervision. The infrastructures built by Kelni GVG will allow the national Communications Authority to monitor international telecommunications traffic in real time.
This tool will help the government levy the exact tax on international calls. The infrastructures which can geolocate SIMBOX will contribute to the fight against frauds in the telecommunications sector. With its competence to supervise mobile money transfers, it will help combat money laundering.
Edmund Fianko, project manager at NCA, explains that "the common platform is a verification system, it does not generate direct revenues. In the past we just trusted it, now we can independently verify. So we have systems connected to the operator data center that gives us very raw data which is processed and enables us to be able to know the volume that has passed and what revenues are due on account on the communication services that have been delivered in the country".
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Ghanaian minister of communications stresses that "there was never any intention to infringe on the privacy of citizens' communications through the common platform. That was a myth put out by some civil society organizations which led to some lawsuits against the platform. Their injunction application was thrown out by the High Court […] Our only motivation was to provide an objective means of verifying the information provided by the telcos for tax revenue purposes, in accordance with the law".
Apart from monitoring the traffic to increase tax revenues, the common platform will also help the Ghanaian government to save $1.1 million per month.
For the management of this infrastructure, Kelni GVG received $1.5 million per month and Subah Infosolutions, the former international telecom traffic monitor will receive $2.6 million. After five years, the platform built and managed by Kelni GVG, in the framework of a Build-Operate-Transfer Contract (BOT) will belong to Ghana.
(EBID) - EBID aims to allocate nearly 41% of its commitments to projects with environmental and...
Mahindra & Mahindra is considering a CKD assembly plant near Durban to strengthen its presence i...
Four major operators—Mauritel, Mattel, Rimatel, and Chinguitel—submitted a combined bid of ...
Operators review 2025 investments, outline 2026 expansion plans Consumer complaints persist...
AFC disbursed €43 million for Côte d’Ivoire solar project Financing supports 66 MW pla...
Talaat Moustafa Group unveils a $27 billion smart city east of Cairo The project will include over 160 towers and vast green public spaces It...
Resource exporters dominate gains from China trade surge Mining-led growth masks structural asymmetries China’s industrial strategy reshapes African...
Data center electricity use is expected to nearly double by 2030 Renewables and gas will supply most of the additional demand Africa remains a...
Tanzania engages Canada to support agricultural modernization and investment Talks focus on value chains, irrigation, mechanization, and technology...
The Virunga Gorilla Marathon is a relatively recent initiative held in the Virunga region, a volcanic mountain range straddling the borders of the...
Lomé is hosting the 9th edition of the International Film Festival of Togo (FIFTO) featuring 33 films. The event promotes African storytelling in...