MTN Ghana sells majority of towers to American company

BY SAMUEL DOWUONA

The MTN Group has sold 51 per cent of its telecom towers and base stations in Ghana to America Tower Corporation (ATC).

Sources close to the deal said the transaction involves the sale of up to 1,876 of MTN Ghana’s existing base station sites for an agreed purchase price of up to $428.3 million, of which ATC will pay some $218.5 million for the 51 per cent stake.

The remaining 49 per cent will be held by a private company to be called TowerCo Ghana, which will also be managed by ATC on behalf of themselves and of MTN.

MTN Ghana will therefore be the anchor tenant, on commercial terms, on each of the towers being purchased.

American Tower also expects that TowerCo Ghana will build at least an additional 400 sites for both MTN Ghana and other wireless operators in Ghana over the next five years.

A statement quoted MTN Group President and CEO, Phuthuma Nhleko as saying that "infrastructure sharing makes absolute sense for MTN and was a key aspect of the updated strategy outlined to MTN shareholders across operations.

He said MTN has in the recent past looked at various permutations to reduce their infrastructure roll-out costs as well as the on-going costs of operating their passive infrastructure in their key markets, including Ghana.

“Because market conditions in each of the markets are unique, we have resolved to evaluate infrastructure sharing opportunities on a market by market basis.

“The Ghanaian market has presented us with an opportunity to partner with a leading independent global tower operator," he said.

The statement also quoted ATC Chairman, President and CEO Jim Taiclet as saying "we are pleased to announce the launch of our operations in Ghana in partnership with MTN, Africa's largest mobile operator."

He says "creating an independent tower company in Ghana reflects the execution of our strategy to invest in selected African markets with strong wireless growth potential and a positive investment climate.”

Mr. Taiclet said as a partner, MTN's stature, vision and operational experience in Africa are highly complementary.

He said ATC believes that combined with our tower leasing expertise, TowerCo Ghana is exceptionally well placed to maximize the market opportunity in Ghana.

SOUTH LONDON TRADE MISSION VISITS GHANA

The British High Commission in Ghana has announced that the South London Export Club (SLEC) will visit Ghana from 8 -14 May 2010.

SLEC comprises 14 British Companies, which are promoting a wide range of products and services and their visit is the first of such to Ghana.

According to a press release from the High Commission announcing the seven-day visit by the British companies, the products include refurbished computers and high quality reconditioned generators, second-hand clothes, food and groceries, laboratory and hospital equipment, stud bolts and anchor, other fasteners and corporate gifts.

Their services also include consultancy for the oil and gas industry, environmental consultancy, business consultancy, management training, and recruitment service.

The mission participants have a range of objectives, including looking for local representatives, qualified distributors or agents and clients. Some will be researching the market for the first time, others will be building on existing contacts and all will be looking forward to making new contacts.

The South London Export Club is an active organisation in South London that offers help to exporter’s worldwide. The club also organises trade missions, such as with this one to Ghana.

The Great Harvest at Harvest Praise 2010

One by one they came, and very quickly too…and soon they numbered 134 souls in all. Great rejoicing must have taken place in Heaven, as the scripture says, as they all surrendered their lives to Christ on Good Friday – April 2, 2010.

Many came to experience the music ministry of UK-based Vinesong, Harvest Gospel Choir, Ohemaa Mercy, the drama ministry of Harvest Theatre and the word-cum-music of Andrae Crouch – the father of contemporary gospel music, at Harvest Praise 2010.

But somewhere in the middle of these, God called these 134 to be part of more than a concert, when Pastor Fitzgerald Odonkor, President of Harvest International Ministries, preached a twenty-minute message one can summarize as follows – “the essence of Easter is that Christ is calling us to salvation” – and the people responded!

Before Pastor Fitz, Vinesong had set the atmosphere in the packed four-thousand-seater dome with some all-time favorite worship songs, including, ‘Come Holy Spirit; Let Your Fire Fall’ and ‘Let Your Living Water Flow Over My Soul’.

Many stood to their feet and bounced along when the Harvest Gospel Choir (HGC) took the stage and ministered songs such as the classic ‘Favorite Song of All’ (Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir), Cindy Thompson’s ‘Anwanwa do’, and the recent hits by Deitrick Haddon/Darwin Hobbs and Tye Tribette – ‘He’s able’ and ‘Son of Man (Bless the Lord)’, respectively. The choir also treated the teaming crowd to compositions by Yaw Antwi-Dadzie and Elder Bethel Donkor – “You reign in power” and “Womba” respectively.

When Ohemaa Mercy (artist-of-the-year-nominee) started out, the concert crowd seemed to have been, for the next thirty or so minutes, transformed into a church congregation, as they wound their handkerchiefs and gave God a massive praise to the hit songs ‘Eyè w’adwen n’eye wo se asei’, ‘Obeye’, among others.

One would have thought that church was over when the offering had been taken and the souls had been ushered. But church was just about to begin, as the 68-year-old Pastor Andrae Crouch patiently walked the audience through the many things God has brought him through.

Every minute counted at this point…he would start a song, and his worship leader Su and her team would respond, literally taking us back to the days when he was accused of tampering the ‘pure’ gospel with ‘secular’ musical styles. But for the audience who sang along ‘Nobody Else Like You’, ‘The Blood Will Never Lose its Power’ and ‘Bless His Holy Name’, it was the power that was inherent in, and the many testimonies that these songs had brought them through, that they remembered.

Oh, one could not possibly forget the response of Bishop Dag Heward-Mills of Lighthouse Chapel International (LCI) when Andrae ministered ‘Living this kind of life’ – a song which happens to be one of the Bishop’s favorite gospel songs ever, and which he’s used as the sig-tune to many messages he has preached over the years; He swung, and moved and danced along with his wife. So did Reverend Fred Degbey of the Christian Council of Ghana, Bishop Bernard Owusu-Ansah of Praise Valley Temple in Holland and the many other ministers present.

What an experience the 12^th edition of Harvest Praise was!, as the crowning moment was marked by 70 more voices from the Harvest Gospel Choir joining to echo Andrae’s ‘Mighty Wind’ – a song that represents the cry of the four-thousand member ‘congregation’ and the many other thousands participating through the radio, TV and on the internet, to let God’s presence “overflow”…and overflow, it did!, wow…

What are you expecting to happen on Good Friday, 2011? Look up what the number 13 signifies according to the Messianic perspective and expect it to overflow on Good Friday, next year, at Harvest Praise 2011!

Written by HB