By Prosper AGBENYEGA
The unfolding drama surrounding the fate of AT (formerly AirtelTigo) continues to deepen, marked by shifting government positions, conflicting statements, and growing public skepticism over a possible merger with Telecel Ghana. What began as a promise of revitalization has, over time, transformed into a controversy clouded by contradictions and unanswered questions.
A Promising Start: The Minister’s Visit to AT
On Friday, 2nd May 2025, the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation paid an official working visit to AT, where he met with management and staff and toured various departments to better understand the company’s operations.
Impressed by the team’s commitment, the Minister praised the staff for their resilience and ingenuity in keeping the company operational despite the lack of significant capital investment. He lauded their ability to “keep the engines running on fumes,” describing their perseverance as a testament to their dedication and belief in AT’s mission.
He assured management and staff that the era of “surviving against the odds” was over, promising substantial investment to revitalize the company, expand capacity, and unlock its full potential. Optimism spread across the sector that AT was finally on the path to renewal.
31st May 2025: A Strategic Partner Announced
During a joint stakeholder meeting with telecommunications industry players on 31st May 2025, the Minister took the opportunity to announce that the government was in negotiations with a strategic partner to take over and revamp AT.
This announcement sparked optimism among stakeholders, who anticipated a long-awaited turnaround for the struggling operator.
3rd June 2025: Rektron Steps Forward
Just days later, on 3rd June 2025, Rektron confirmed on its official website that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Ghana to acquire a 60% stake in AT, with the government retaining 40% ownership. The MoU, dated 21st May 2025, was reported on both the Canadian Stock Exchange and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, signaling international recognition of the deal.
This development validated the Minister’s earlier statement, bringing renewed hope to AT’s staff, management, and industry stakeholders who viewed Rektron’s entry as a potential lifeline.
3rd July 2025: Press Conference Raises Doubts
However, optimism soon gave way to uncertainty. At a press conference on 3rd July 2025, the Minister failed to present a clear roadmap for AT’s future, despite the already-signed MoU. Instead, he made broad and at times contradictory statements, which fueled confusion.
He disclosed that KPMG had been appointed as the transactional advisor to oversee the negotiations, adding that the Ministry itself was not directly involved in the process a position that appeared to distance the Ministry from the very deal it had championed.
1st August 2025: A Sudden Shift in Narrative
During his presentation in the Government’s Accountability Series on 1st August 2025, the Minister revealed that the future of AT now depended on the advice and legal opinion of the Attorney-General, who was yet to submit his recommendations.
This statement starkly contradicted his earlier pronouncements, given that the strategic partner (Rektron) and a transactional advisor (KPMG) had already been secured. The unexpected shift raised critical questions —why the U-turn?
September 2025: The Telecel Twist
Information later emerged that after initial meetings with American Towers Company (ATC) on the debt of AT, the Minister had promised financial support to them by the end of August which never materialized. Facing a shutdown threat from ATC by end of August, the Minister convened a meeting between AT and Telecel’s technical teams, directing that AT subscribers should roam on Telecel’s network starting 1st September as an interim measure.
Then, on Wednesday, 3rd September 2025, during a meeting with AT staff, the Minister announced that the company would soon be consolidated with Telecel in a merger arrangement, assuring that all 300 permanent employees would be absorbed by Telecel, without no assurances to the 200 contract staffs and over the 10,000 jobs that depend on the survival of the company.
The Ministry subsequently published the merger announcement across its official social media pages on the same night after the meeting with the staffs of AT, which made other mainstream media outlets picked and runned with it, with the story making waves only to delete the post the following day on the 4th of September 2025.
By 5th September 2025, amid growing backlash, the Minister held a press conference denying the merger, describing the situation as a “matter of force majeure.” The reversal coming barely 48 hours after the initial announcement left the public puzzled and suspicious about the deal’s transparency.
Corporate Curiosity and Conflicts of Interest
In another twist, on 6th September 2025, Telecel sponsored the Homowo Festival in Prampram, a constituency represented by the Minister since 2016. The timing raised eyebrows, especially as other telecom companies including MTN, which sponsored the Dzata Foundation event earlier that year had also shown newfound enthusiasm for events linked to the Minister.
These coincidences sparked public concern about potential conflicts of interest and the Minister’s ability to act impartially in regulatory decisions involving these companies.
Contradictions and Confusion Deepen
Adding to the confusion, Telecel’s Group CEO, Moh Damush, told Bloomberg in an interview published on 3rd October 2025 that the merger move would be backed by a USD 50 million network upgrade though the source of funding was unclear.
Telecel later shared the Bloomberg story on its official LinkedIn page, “Telecel Global” only to delete the post hours later, mirroring the Ministry’s earlier actions. This pattern of publishing and retracting statements intensified speculation that the full details of the deal were being deliberately concealed.
Telecel CEO’s Visit and Strategic Public Engagements Raise Eyebrows
In a calculated move seemingly aimed at winning goodwill and gaining the attention of the President and other key decision-makers, Telecel Group, led by Mr. Damush, began engaging in a series of high-profile meetings and doing other corporate social responsibility initiatives. Just some days ago, the company partnered with the Ministry of Health to support the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (Mahama Fund) by donating cervical cancer screening equipment to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. Similar donation ceremonies are reportedly scheduled to take place in Tamale and at the Sefwi Wiawso Government Hospital in the coming days.
These developments have raised further questions about the timing and motives behind Telecel’s renewed visibility, particularly as they coincide with ongoing uncertainty and controversy surrounding the AT merger deal.
A Question of Capacity and Credibility
Concerns over Telecel’s financial standing have further fueled skepticism. The company, burdened with debts reportedly exceeding USD 400 million, has not fulfilled its USD 500 million investment pledge made during its 2018 acquisition of Vodafone Ghana, having injected less than USD 10 million to date.
Minister’s Own Words Come Full Circle
This development comes at a time when, during an interview on “The Point of View” with Bernard Avle on Citi TV on 14th April 2025, the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation openly stated that the Telecel Group failed to invest in the company after acquiring it from Vodafone Ghana, despite earlier reports of a USD 500 million investment pledge announced in 2018.
The Minister’s statement has since been affirmed by Hon. Sylvester Tetteh, the former Member of Parliament for Bortianor-Ngleshie-Amanfro and former Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Communications and Information. Hon. Tetteh pointed out that Telecel, after taking over Vodafone Ghana, had promised to inject USD 500 million into the new entity but has since not done so. He further questioned why Telecel is now seeking to acquire AT, suggesting that if the company indeed has funds to invest, those resources should rather be directed toward improving its own network.
His remarks corroborate Hon. Sam George’s earlier position that Telecel failed to deliver on its investment commitments following its takeover. Together, these statements not only highlight a consistent pattern of unfulfilled promises by Telecel but also raise deeper questions about why the government would prefer a company with such a record to take over AT.
A National Asset at Risk
Ironically, in his 14th April 2025 interview with Bernard Avle on The Point of View, the Minister himself stated that he would have pursued an “assimilation package” for AT’s employees effectively winding down the company. What once seemed like a hypothetical scenario now appears to be unfolding in real time.
These developments raise serious concerns about the true intent behind the ongoing impasse. Is the process genuinely about restructuring AT into a stronger national asset, or is it paving the way for its gradual dismantling in favor of private commercial interests potentially at the expense of jobs, expertise, and national security?
AT’s role in maintaining network stability during the March 2024 internal fibre-cut crisis, when it remained the only fully operational telecom operator, underscores its strategic importance to Ghana’s national security infrastructure.
Over the years, AT has produced some of the telecommunications industry’s most distinguished professionals, including the former Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful; the Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at MTN Ghana, Nana Kofi Asare, who also serves as Acting CEO in the absence of the substantive MTN CEO; the immediate past CEO of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh; the CEO of MTN Mobile Money Limited, Shaibu Haruna; the Director of Fintech and Innovation at the Bank of Ghana, Kwame Oppong; and the recently appointed CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Sylvia Ankomah, among others.
And Patricia Obo-Nai, now the CEO of Telecel Ghana, who herself rose through the ranks at AT for over seven years, receiving the platform and professional foundation that shaped her remarkable telecom career. It is therefore surprising that she now appears to be doing everything possible, with the active support of the Minister, to raze down the very institution that gave her the opportunity and training to become who she is today.
Conclusion
The unfolding AT–Telecel saga stands as a cautionary tale of policy inconsistency, corporate opacity, and potential conflicts of interest. With shifting narratives, conflicting claims, and deleted announcements, one thing remains clear: the future of AT — and by extension, Ghana’s telecommunications sovereignty hangs in the balance. One cannot help but ask: why would the Minister reject a USD 1 billion investment proposal from Afritel-Rektron into AT — with an initial USD 150 million capital injection — only to favor Telecel, a company which, by his own admission, has failed to invest in its own network and therefore lacks the financial capacity to fund the proposed merger?
Such a decision not only appears commercially illogical but also carries far-reaching implications for Ghana’s telecommunications landscape. By sidelining a well-capitalized investor in favor of a debt-laden one, the government risks further consolidating market dominance in favor of MTN, giving it a virtual monopoly and greater leverage to dictate the pace and direction of the country’s telecom infrastructure.