Ghana Slams Telcos – You Must Roll Over Unused Monthly Data

The Ghanaian Ministry of Communications has directed mobile network providers to stop allowing all unused data and voice bundles to expire, instead of rolling over with the next recharge.

It made this clear in a letter, dated October 9, 2019, concerning the “extraordinary upfront deduction of CST and notification of same to subscribers must stop with immediate effect.”

The letter was signed by the Minister of Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu Ekuful. It was addressed to Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Mr Joe Anokye. In the letter, the ministry also copied the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of MTN and Vodafone as well as the two Deputy Ministers of Communication, Mr George Nenyi Andah and Mr Vincent Sowah-Odotei.

Among others, the letter was reported to have been prompted by the increase of the Communication Service Tax from 6% to 9%. This increase puts heavier cost burden on the consumers, while the network providers continue to profit unscathed.

According to the letter, “At the series of meetings held between the Ministry of Communications, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and the NCA on 7th and 8th October, 2019, we were informed that prior to 4th September 2019, MNOs had not been passing on the CST to subscribers but had decided to take advantage of the 3% increase to pass on the entire tax to subscribers. This has effectively increased their profit margin at the expense of subscribers.”

“All unused data and voice bundles purchased by subscribers do not expire and must be rolled over with the next recharge,” the letter said. “MNOs will be subjected to strict compliance with existing Quality of Service (QoS) standard to ensure value for the subscribers’ money in accordance with their license obligations.”

The directive is expected to take immediate effect.