The National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, claims that the Mobile Money interoperability initiative, which began in 2016, was initiated under the leadership of former President John Dramani Mahama.

According to Gyamfi, during the NDC/Mahama administration in 2016, a contract for the initiative was awarded to SIBTON by the Bank of Ghana.

Responding to the recent address by the 2024 NPP flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, at UPSA, Gyamfi called on the vice president to provide accurate information to Ghanaians.

In his public address, Dr. Bawumia praised Ghana's growth in the mobile money market, crediting the Akufo-Addo government's investments.

However, Sammy Gyamfi contradicts Bawumia's statements, alleging that the vice president terminated an NDC-awarded contract and awarded it to associates.

Mr Gyamfi asserted that the first MOMO interoperability system contract was awarded to SIBTON in 2016 under the NDC/Mahama government.

He accused Bawumia of canceling this Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract and awarding a new one to his associate's company.

Mr Gyamfi refuted Bawumia's claim that the SIBTON contract was inflated by GHS4.6 billion, explaining that it was a BOT project where the company would charge normal user fees projected to be GHS4.6 billion over a 15-year period, inclusive of setup and operating costs.

Sammy Gyamfi stated, “On the contrary, the first MOMO interoperability system contract was awarded to a company known as SIBTON by the Bank of Ghana in 2016 under the visionary NDC/Mahama government. Bawumia only came to cancel this Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract under false pretenses and awarded a new contract to his crony company.

"The claim by Bawumia that the SIBTON contract was inflated by GHS4.6 billion is a lie. It was a Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) project. Government was not going to spend a pesewa on it. Rather, the company was going to charge the normal user fees which was projected to be GHS4.6 billion over a 15-year period as their gross revenue, inclusive of their setup and operating cost.

He concluded by stating that even before the current government took office, MOMO interoperability had been conceived and initiated, with a contract signed for that purpose, and calls on Bawumia to stop spreading lies.

"Even before this BOT interoperability project, Ghanaians could send MOMO across networks through the TOKEN system that the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlements System (GhIPSS) Limited had provided. Remember the TOKEN MOMO SYSTEM? Clearly, even before this government took office, MOMO interoperability had been long conceived and initiated. A contract had been signed to that effect. Bawumia should stop the lies,” he concluded.