Two out of the six telecom companies operating in Ghana owe the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) whopping sums of money, amounting to millions of Ghana cedis.

According to an insider at the KMA, the debt is an accumulated revenue from the erection of masts in various parts of the Kumasi Metropolis.

In bid to get the two telecom operators -Glo Mobile Ghana and Vodafone Ghana pay these monies, the revenue mobilization task force of the KMA over the weekend stormed the premises of two firms and locked up their offices at various suburbs of the metropolis.

The offices of Glo in Asafo, near Amakom Traffic and Vodafone premises at Adum, all in the Ashanti Region, were locked up in the evening on Wednesday July 17, 2013, after close of work by the taskforce, while the others were locked up during the weekend.

Erastus Asasre-Donkor of Luv FM, a Kumasi-based radio station said, KMA authorities told him Glo owed them business operating permit fees for 2013, while Vodafone owed fees for business operating permit and property rates for 2013.

KMA authorities have declined comments on the matter, but said the telcos would have to pay their debts in full before the offices would be opened.

Instructively, Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) charge property taxes and business operating permits from individuals and organisations doing business within their localities.