Parliament Hauls In Communications Minister Over Unresolved Internet Blackout
byNews Africa Gh-
Parliament has directed the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful to brief the House on the internet disruption that hit the country from Thursday, March 14.
The Minister is also expected to brief Parliament on the government's efforts to prevent any future occurrences of internet blackouts.
This directive follows the widespread outage experienced by several internet service providers in the early hours of Thursday, March 14 and which has since not been fully restored. Subsequently, both the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications and the National Communications Authority issued statements reporting an undersea fibre optic disruption affecting internet services.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Friday, March 15, the North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa who demanded that Mrs Owusu-Ekuful appears before the House emphasised that the disruption is massive.
He expressed concerns over the lack of clarity regarding the extent of the damage, highlighting the frustrations experienced by citizens in various daily activities, including financial services and bank transactions.
“It's even a national security issue. Mr Speaker, I note from the business statement that fortunately for us, the honourable minister responsible for Communications and Digitalization is expected in this House on Monday, the 18th of March, 2024, to answer two questions that are not related to this matter.
“So I want to appeal to you if you can give a ruling that the honourable Minister, when coming to respond to these questions, shall come with a statement on this very important matter of national significance and what the government is doing to help restore normalcy so that we can have access to the internet and to our data services,” he said.
Similarly, the MP for Asawase constituency in the Ashanti Region, Muntaka Mubarak criticised the Minister's delay in briefing Parliament on the situation.
He highlighted the need for proactive communication from government officials to address public concerns and prevent speculation.
“For me, even Monday [March 18] is looking far because this thing started yesterday in the morning like a joke. Then in the evening, it was coming back and up to now it’s not stable. Nobody knows what's happening and the minister doesn't find it necessary to run to this House to brief us on the reason for the country to know what is happening and give some assurances. Mr Speaker, it's worrying,” he stressed.
However, the Majority Leader Alexander, Afenyo-Markin assured MPs that he had been in contact with the Communications Minister and they had agreed that she would present a statement on the situation to Parliament on Monday, March 18.
“The Minister for Communication reached out to me yesterday and indicated that she wanted to come today to make a statement on that. Meanwhile, I drew her attention to the fact that she is supposed to appear before us on Monday.
"So the understanding was that she would come on Monday instead and then do it all together. So members be assured that this will be done on Monday. So she will be here,” Afenyo-Markin stated.
