Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Ghana’s Minister for Communication and Digitalisation, has expressed her readiness to serve as Vice President if selected by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. Owusu-Ekuful, who is also the NPP Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West, emphasized her qualifications for the role but made it clear she won’t actively seek it out.
“This position is not something we lobby for. If women are leading, it’s a good thing. I love taking on any job assigned to me. I won’t go begging, but if given the chance, I’ll do it well,” she stated on Asempa FM. She added, “For now, I am focused on my duties as a Minister and MP. If asked to take on another role, I’ll gladly accept, but my current responsibilities are my priority.”
In other news, Owusu-Ekuful explained the decision to grant a new company the license to manage Ghana’s 5G rollout. She said NextGen InfraCo was created specifically for this project as there were no existing neutral infrastructure companies capable of handling it.
She elaborated on the government’s approach, noting that auctioning the contract wasn’t considered due to previous issues with the 4G network rollout, which has only reached 15% penetration since its 2015 launch. By directly awarding the contract to NextGen InfraCo, the government aims to avoid similar setbacks and speed up the 5G implementation.
The Minister’s explanation addresses concerns raised by investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni about the contract award. Despite these concerns, the government believes this strategy is crucial for the successful and timely deployment of 5G technology in Ghana.
