The Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, granted an exclusive interview to TV3 about his ten months of stewardship. The interview touched on a number of industry issues such as network quality of service, the DSTV saga, the upcoming SIM registration, the 15 new industry legislations in the pipeline, and the sensitive matter of what government intends to do with the embattled AT Ghana.
Conspicuously missing from the interview, however, were two of the hottest industry issues since Sam George became minister — the AT Ghana–Telecel “merger or absorption,” and the end-of-year deadline for the rollout of 5G in Ghana. It is unclear whether the interview was intentionally designed to avoid these sensitive topics or the interviewer simply forgot to ask about them.
Interestingly, the interviewer, Roland Walker, delved briefly into the AT Ghana issue but stopped short of questioning the minister on the AT–Telecel merger or absorption, which the minister strongly championed earlier in the year. The last time the minister spoke on that matter, he said Telecel was currently providing roaming services to AT while KPMG conducts an audit that will advise government on the nature and terms of their relationship. However, prior to mentioning the KPMG audit, the minister had already been quoted on the Ministry’s own LinkedIn page telling AT Ghana staff at a durbar that the two companies were being merged and that the merger was about 90% complete. He even outlined three levels of integration and some timelines, before later backtracking and stating that government was waiting for KPMG’s advice.
Although the minister announced in September that KPMG had been contracted as transaction advisors, Techfocus24 has learnt that KPMG only received instructions to begin work around mid-October. In the TV3 interview, the minister said KPMG’s mandate is to audit AT Ghana before government decides what to do with it — whether to invest in it or not. He added that he had proposed an audit of Telecel Ghana as well. Notably, he made no mention of the AT–Telecel merger, absorption, or any related arrangement.
Blaming AT Management
During his submission on the AT matter, the minister made a statement that shocked many observers, particularly AT workers, who are widely regarded as some of the best professionals in the industry. Over the years, industry watchers have consistently noted that Tigo — and, by extension, AirtelTigo (now AT Ghana) — possessed some of the sharpest minds in Ghana’s telecom space. The long-standing perception has always been that if they had the level of investment available to MTN, they would perform wonders. Even employees of rival telcos admit this.
But for the first time, the minister chose to take a swipe at AT Ghana’s management and blamed them squarely for the company’s current state.
He stated:
“The very people who run Airtel to the ground [and] run Millicom to the ground are sitting in management today at AT and have run it to the ground. This government must not put fresh money into the company without auditing what the management of the company has done.”
Until this new comment, the minister had consistently suggested that lack of investment was the root cause of AT Ghana’s struggles. At the durbar where he first announced the merger, he said the main challenge was the absence of investment, and that government’s steps were aimed at positioning the company to attract investors. He also assured workers that no jobs would be lost — including management roles — despite being handicapped by years of non-investment from both the former shareholders (Bharti Airtel and Millicom) and the current owner (the Government of Ghana).
However, the minister has now added management — and by extension workers — to the list of those he blames. Previously, his criticisms were directed at the policy failures of the previous government and the former shareholders’ refusal to invest. Now, management is also on the chopping block.
Tigo and Airtel Management Roll Call
From the minister’s own comments, the problems of Airtel and Tigo did not begin under AirtelTigo. The two companies merged because they both faced severe challenges caused by lack of investment — not poor management. Honest officials at the National Communications Authority (NCA) will admit that they observed signs of decline years ago due to lack of investment, not managerial incompetence.
A quick roll call of former Tigo and Airtel managers — and where they are now — shows clearly that management was never AT’s problem:
a) Patricia Obo-Nai — Spent 14 years in Tigo management. Now CEO of Telecel Ghana.
b) Lucy Quist — Served in management roles at Tigo and Vodafone Ghana; later became CEO of Airtel Ghana and later CEO of Morgan Stanley (Africa).
c) Mitwa Ng’ambi — Former CEO of Tigo Ghana; poached by MTN to become CEO of MTN Rwanda; now CEO of MTN Cameroon.
Others include Obafemi Banigbe, one of the smartest CTOs in Ghana; Tara Squire, Jesse Agyepong, Gifty Bingley and more — all respected professionals who left only because lack of investment made progress impossible.
Workers Demoralized
The minister’s comments have reportedly caused deep concern among workers, who already feel demoralised by what they see as politicians playing chess with their future. The workers previously considered holding a press conference or a demonstration to demand clarity about the company’s future. However, the same management now being blamed advised them against it. Instead, they staged a peaceful protest by wearing red and black to work to signal that they are in a state of mourning and confusion due to the government’s unclear policy direction after ten months.
What makes the minister’s remarks more worrying is that although KPMG has been tasked to audit AT and Cabinet is yet to issue a directive, the minister is already apportioning blame to management — similar to how he prematurely announced an AT–Telecel merger before later saying KPMG would advise government.
$250 Million Debt, Force Majeure and Related Matters
One of the minister’s major talking points has been AT Ghana’s supposed US$250 million debt, which he describes as a liability inherited by the state after acquiring AT Ghana for $1. Staff, management and industry analysts have consistently questioned this narrative for various reasons:
• AT Ghana is operated by PPL Net, which is owned by Airtel Ghana, which itself is fully owned by government. The previous administration placed all assets and staff under PPL Net and left outstanding liabilities with Airtel Ghana.
• PPL Net therefore began operations debt-free, and any new debts accumulated are separate.
• The minister claims PPL Net has accumulated US$15 million in debt and is losing GHS22 million monthly. However, in telecoms, a US$15 million debt is relatively small and would not deter investors — which explains why groups like Rektron, Axian and others have shown interest in AT Ghana. Even Telecel is excited about merging with AT, despite previously resisting the idea.
Regarding the US$250 million debt that remains with Airtel Ghana, there is an important but conveniently omitted perspective — one that undermines the “force majeure” narrative used by the minister to justify migrating AT customers to Telecel.
The minister labelled the shutdown of AT Ghana’s sites by American Tower Corporation (ATC) as a force majeure. ATC disconnected AT due to longstanding indebtedness. Initially, the minister pegged this debt at GH¢1.5 billion, though Techfocus24 later learned that the real figure exceeded GH¢2 billion.
Here is what the minister did not disclose:
ATC voluntarily reduced AT Ghana’s debt from over US$200 million to about US$20 million by cancelling all accumulated interest and slashing the principal by around 80%.
This major concession was communicated to the minister, the Presidency, the Finance Ministry and National Security. National Security was involved because the World Bank’s e-Transform project runs mainly on AT Ghana’s infrastructure, and the shutdown affected that network as well.
Even after ATC’s massive concession, government took no immediate action to negotiate a payment plan, which could have kept AT’s network running. Instead, the minister insisted that no funds should be released to PPL Net until KPMG completes its audit — despite having already pushed for a merger with Telecel months before the audit mandate was even initiated.
Why was the minister quick to publicize ATC’s original GH¢1.5 billion bill, but silent on the fact that the debt had since been reduced to about US$20 million?
This omission raises suspicions.
When ATC Shut Telecel Down
About a year ago, ATC also shut down some of Telecel’s sites over unpaid debts. In that instance, the NCA, under the previous government’s instruction, ordered ATC to reconnect Telecel and return to the negotiating table — even though government owns only 30% of Telecel.
Yet in the case of AT Ghana, which is fully government-owned, the same urgency was conspicuously absent — even after ATC had shown goodwill by reducing the debt significantly.
Telecel’s Own Debt Issues
Telecel also carries substantial debt from Vodafone’s era, plus additional debt accumulated over recent years. The company claims to have invested US$243 million in Ghana and has submitted documentation to the NCA with restrictions on publication. However, industry observers note that a substantial portion of this “investment” is actually debt cancellation inherited from Vodafone Group.
Telecel maintains that it is still servicing these debts — which means it is not debt-free.
Despite these complexities, the minister had previously accused Telecel of failing to invest the US$100 million promised in their first year. Yet now he appears eager to portray Telecel as the ideal destination for AT Ghana’s customers, offering support based on a promised US$50 million investment — money government itself could have used to negotiate with ATC to restore AT’s network.
Unanswered Questions
The sequence of actions and omissions has left many industry analysts puzzled. Key questions include:
• Why did the minister first blame lack of investment for AT Ghana’s collapse, then suddenly shift blame to AT’s management — even before the audit report is ready?
• Why criticize the previous government for supposedly failing to conduct due diligence in the Vodafone-Telecel deal, yet now promote Telecel as the solution to AT’s problems?
• Why tell AT workers that government policy is to merge AT and Telecel, then later deny it and suggest that the arrangement is undecided and awaiting KPMG’s advice? Meanwhile, Telecel publicly describes it as an absorption.
• Why call ATC’s shutdown of AT a force majeure when ATC had already heavily reduced the debt?
• Why did government fail to intervene in the ATC–AT dispute — despite intervening decisively in the ATC–Telecel case last year?
• Why turn down an investor offering US$150 million for 60% shares in AT — on the grounds that the investor lacked telecom experience — when AT’s own staff are highly experienced?
We leave it here.
By: Samuel Dowuona
