Investigations carried out by our scouts revealed that the poor quality of service being rendered by operators in the mobile telephony sector is traceable to inefficiency of the top echelon of the National Communication Authority. The gross incompetence of the leadership of the NCA, our intelligence uncovered is the result of the political patronage which characterized the appointment of some of the senior officers as they were mostly handpicked without recourse to professional and technical expertise in the industry during the era of the NPP administration.

The recent uproar in the almost dysfunctional service of the mobile phone operators in the country, particularly problems of connectivity and reception had spawned interesting disclosures. It has emerged that the main regulator, the NCA is packed with hordes of inefficient and technically bankrupt NPP apparatchiks. From the Director-General, through the Directors of Finance, Administration and Information Technology to Technical Advisors, the inability of the NCA to enforce standards and procedures is the direct result of the politically motivated appointments and patronage.

Our investigations established that the appointment of the current Director-General, Bernard Forson was facilitated through a school drop-out journalist whose penchant for defending the NPP and in particular J.A. Kufuor for acts of indiscretion is legendary. Forson, the intelligence gathered was a childhood friend to this loquacious journalist. The hand-held Forson was reportedly introduced to the then President Kufuor, who by his edict directed that he be made the Deputy Director-General of the NCA, a then non-existing position which has to be established to satisfy the parochial political ego of the influence peddlers and their political activists.

Mr. Forson, the paper gathered has no formal training in communication let alone any expertise in the telecommunication industry in general. His specialization was in Investment Banking and duly spent part of his working life with Avon in the United States. However, by his known political affiliation to the NPP and personal relationship to this well known journalistic hermaphrodite (we are informed his political ideology is rooted in both the CPP and NPP, a clear case of intellectual buffoonery and ideological confusionist), the ground was prepared for him to eventually take-over the topmost position at the NCA.

As revealed by the intelligence, Forson is not only bereft of ideas but is always at sea when issues bordering on technical considerations are brought to his attention. His inefficiency, we are informed has been identified by some of the highly trained persons working for the telecommunication companies in the country. They, therefore, have been exploiting this technical loophole hence the poor service delivery by mostly mobile telephony operators.

With the political patrons taste for good cash, some of the hand-picked appointed officials at the NCA, we gathered have been compromised by some of the service providers to the extent that they can only bark but cannot bite. As we stated, Forson is not the only NPP activist smuggled into the NCA, George Kumi-Brobbey, the Director of Finance, owed his present position to his political smartness by offering to become the campaign manager for his uncle, the NPP's Mr. Felix Owusu-Agyapong. Kumi-Brobbey was therefore rewarded with the Director of Finance at the NCA when the uncle was appointed as the then Minister of Communications. As we write, the financial mismanagement going on at the NCA has drawn the ire of some well-meaning staff while the current Board headed by Mr. Kofi Totobi Quakyi is being called upon to sit up. With Mr. Quakyi's well acclaimed eye for detail, our intelligence sources are wondering why it is taking his board so long to overhaul the place and inject some sanity into its operations.

The next NCA top gun who appeared on our radar is Mr. George Nii Ashitey Ollenu, the Director of Administration. He reportedly joined the NCA directly from the United States where he was originally domiciled. But as part of the NPP political machine while in the States, his return and appointment to the current position was allegedly facilitated by Mad. Ama Busia, former Council of State member. The smoothness with which the job was handed to Ollenu has been traced to his biological connection to Ama Busia (she is the aunt) and also being the brother-in-law of Prof. Ameyaw Ekumfi, former Minister for Railways, Ports and Harbours. In this case too, competence was not the main criteria but political affiliation as well as biological and conjugal considerations. What this also reveals is the blatant disregard for procedure in favour of patronage resulting in the NCA being sucked in the miasma of corruption, professional ineptitude, nepotism and cronyism.

A further insight into the factors militating against the NCA progress to deal with the poor quality of service in the telecommunication industry produced other startling results - the NPP 'political mafia' as represented by Kwaku Nsiah. A known NPP organizer in the 2000 elections which brought their ethnocentrist party to political power, Nsiah was appointed technical advisor to the NCA and accorded the status of Deputy Director. Although he has been seconded to the Ghana Information Technology Directorate (GICTeD) as a Director in-charge of Project Management, Nsiah, due to the untrammeled political power he wields as an NPP organizer /activist has 'colonized' the NCA VW Bora vehicle earlier on allocated to him. He is said to still keep custody of the vehicle with registration number GT 6839 U.

Tongues are wagging within NCA circles as to the deliberate aloofness of the current board to rectify some of these anomalies. While the Director-General, Mr. Forson is incapable of acting because of the symbiotic relationship through NPP political patronage, well meaning Ghanaians at the Authority, told our intelligence that until something dramatic is done the quality of service of the telephone operators would remain the same.

 “These men have been compromised and have their necks deep in the corruptible business of issuance of licenses to some of the major operators hence the mess we are experiencing in service delivery.”

It has also come to the notice of the Daily Post that some anomalies have been identified in the renovation and extension of the building at the current 1st Rangoon Close. The anomaly, we understand hangs around the neck of the former Board headed by Mr. Jude Arthur, who used to be the MD of the 1st Atlantic Merchant Bank. The project which was estimated at ¢3 billion (Old Ghana Cedis) ballooned to ¢7billion. Our intelligence revealed that the contract for the works is not on file while a company with the name Modula, suspected to be connected to Felix Owusu-Agyapong was cited as being prominent in the renovations works.

More Anon!