Vodafone denies allegations of cheating

Major Albert Don-Chebe (RTD), Head of Corporate Communications, Vodafone Ghana, on Friday denied knowledge of any Nigerian company called Telegennica, alleged to be employing local contractors to install masts for Vodafone.

Maj. Don-Chebe told the Ghana News Agency that Vodafone has awarded a contract to Huawei to install infrastructure across the country and Huawei was free to sub-let parts of the contract to any company it deems fit.

“As far as Vodafone is concerned we have a contract with only Huawei so we have no knowledge or dealings with any company that Huawei deals with in executing that contract,” he said.

Maj. Don-Chebe made the remark in response to an online publication on July 1, with the headline “Vodafone Gt, Huawei and Telegenicca Cheating Ghanaian Contractors”.

The publication, under the name of one Adumua Sam, alleged that a Nigerian Company, Telegenicca, hired by Huawei to erect masts in parts of the country, also used local contractors but refused to reimburse them after the local contractors had pre-financed the contracts.

It said when a local contractor ran out of cash and could not finish the contract, Telegenicca then hired another contractor to complete it and then refused to pay the original contractor the full amount spent.

Maj. Don-Chebe said it was erroneous for anyone to assume that because the masts were being erected on behalf of Vodafone then Vodafone was part of any games that the Nigerian company was alleged to be playing.

“Nobody has reported any such fraud to us. We saw it for the first time when it was published online,” he said.

The Ghana News Agency made attempts to reach Huawei on their only available office telephone fixed line number in Ghana, 021-782276, but the line was dead.

Further investigations revealed that the fixed line was in the name of Jack and Jill, care of IPMC and not Huawei.