By Sarah Baafi
Minister of Communications Samuel Nartey George revealed plans to establish an inter-ministerial committee aimed at addressing the high cost of data in Ghana. In an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday February 8,2025,
Hon. Sam George says the committee is expected to be set up within the next 14 days and will include representatives from various sectors, including the Ministry of Energy and Finance, PURC, and telecom industry stakeholders.
“I’ve given them the running order,” Minister George stated. “Hopefully within the next 14 days we’ll be setting up a committee… to look at the cost of data.” He emphasized two potential models for reducing costs: lowering prices or increasing value offerings. For instance, instead of reducing prices from 100 cedis for 100 gigabytes, telcos could offer more data for the same price—potentially increasing it to 150 gigabytes.
The inclusion of energy sector representatives is crucial as power costs significantly impact Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), with tower companies attributing about 80% of their expenses to energy. Hon. Sam George expressed optimism that by addressing these underlying issues with PURC’s involvement, tangible results can be achieved.
As part of his broader strategy, he aims for significant progress on data offerings before year-end: “It is my fervent belief that before the end of this year, we should see some movements in the data offerings,”.
