The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Communications, Mr Ken Agyapong Thursday morning clashed with Ningo Prampram Member of Parliament, Sam George.
Reports suggest there was a near brawl between the two members of Parliament but for the timely intervention of other members of the Committee on Communications who were at the meeting.
The committee had met Thursday morning to listen to concerns raised by the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) on the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and the StarTimes deal.
Mr Agyapong is the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Communications.
During the meeting, one of them was said to have used some words which the other felt were insulting and demanded a withdrawal and an apology.
The other was said to have insisted that he was not going to do that and from what Graphic Online gathers, the exchanges started from then on and got near-physical to the extent that some members at the meeting had to restrain the two, to avoid any fisticuffs.
Eventually, the meeting was suspended for about 30 minutes until about midday when members were recalled.
All these, Graphic Online gathers, happened when the committee was trying to get more details on the petition GIBA had sent to them on the DTT and StarTimes deal.
StarTimes had started Ghana's Digital Terrestrial Television programme but along the line, their contract was cancelled because they failed to deliver.
The contract was later given to Ghanaian company K-NET to handle and K-Net has done more than 90 per cent of the job.
K-Net presently needs additional funding to complete the project which is the first phase.
But the government intends to go back to StarTimes to complete it and GIBA has raised an issue with that.
The two MPs Messrs Agyapong and George disagree over the termination of K-NET’s contract by the government.
While Mr Agyapong is in favour of the termination of the K-NET deal due to, according to him, the shabby manner in which the local company treated his (MrAgyapong’s) NET2 TV station in the past, Mr George believes the StarTimes deal is detrimental to local players in the industry.
More to follow...
Source: Daily Graphic
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Let's get all the details before we draw conclusions. The report by Graphic Online lacks some details and a few inaccuracies. Why is K-NET not complaining?? StarTimes' arrangement with govt, not yet a contract, is to expand the DTT after K-NET completes the first phase. The Minister indicated last week that K-NET's contract has not been cancelled nor taken away and given to another company. The problem was lack of information flow from the Ministry. Yesterday, all the players, including GIBA and K-NET, met the Minister and the situation has been clarified to the satisfaction of all. Ken's pay-back attitude towards K-NET is rather unfortunate and Sam George's strenuous efforts to find faults where there are none is reprehensible...an MP must be honest and deal with verified facts.
whaaaa...look, how can someone like Ken chair such an important committee. He is there to settle personal score and not to fight for the interest of Ghana. Such a big shame!!! They should have been allowed to slug it out I know who will be beaten.
Ken is being parochial and vindictive here. How will you scupper a deal that is in the national interest just because you thought the mistreated your private company? As a law-abiding citizen(and indeed a law maker) why didn't you head to the court when you felt you were unfairly treated?
I see revenge from Mr. Agyapong whiles Mr. George is being patriotic to his country,and I side with Mr. George. why should the local companies always suffer at the hands of these politicians for their own self interest seeking. God help this country.