Koforidua, July 8, GNA- More than 10,000 consumers of the Eastern Regional branch of the Ghana Telecom (GT) owe 5.5 billion cedis to the company.

The company has, therefore, embarked on the mass disconnection of defaulters, recovery and reallocation of lines to awaiting customers while debtors are being prosecuted for recovery of the amount. The Regional Head of the company, Nii Amaa Fleischer-Brock, who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Koforidua on Monday, however, urged defaulters to pay up promptly to avoid "the unpleasant situation of having to disconnect their lines and other punitive measures."

Nii Flesicher-Brock who expressed concern about the alarming rate at which the payphones in the region were being destroyed, also appealed to residents to take good care of the payphones in their areas. Giving the telephone supply situation in the region, he said there are 10,123 fixed telephone lines in eight out of the 15 districts, 4,285 "one-touch" mobile phones, 581 communication centres and 304 payphones. Nii Fleischer-Brock said the company would soon acquire switches and radio equipment to extend telephones to the remaining districts to support the government's vision of having all Senior Secondary Schools and district capitals to enjoy Internet services.

On the One-touch service, he said it had enjoyed tremendous patronage throughout the country resulting in a huge back-log of applicants on the waiting list, adding that more mobile cell sites are to be installed after which starter packs would be out to serve the public.

Government committed to cocoa industry

Accra, July 8, GNA - Finance Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo on Tuesday reiterated government's commitment to increase farmers' share of the free on board (FOB) price of cocoa to reach the target of 70 per cent by the 2004/2005 Crop Season.

Addressing a press conference in Accra, the Minister said government's policy of increased farmer income and increased resources for disease and pest control had yielded good results.

He said cocoa purchases at the end of the 2002/2003 Main Crop Season in May this year had reached 442,476 tonnes far beyond the target of 350,000 tonnes set for the period.

Mr Osafo-Maafo said despite the unstable price development in the world market, which prompted Cote d'Ivoire to review its price paid to farmers downwards, government had maintained the producer price of 8.5 million cedis per tonne it had set in October last year.

He said the forecast FOB price for the 2002 - 2003 season was 13.86 million cedis per tonne, while the producer price paid to the farmer is pegged at 8.5 million per tonne.

"Together with other farmer support programmes, the farmer is earning 9.6 million cedis. In line with unusual upward movement in prices, government has rewarded farmers through the payment of bonuses," the Minister said.