The Minister for Communications, Hon.Ursula Owusu-Ekuful says the government is bringing ICT connectivity to the doorsteps of the underserved and unserved communities through the Implementation of the 2,016 Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project.
Government according to Hon.Ursula Owusu has successfully constructed 1,010 and is on course to complete the remaining 1,006 sites to ensure sustainable access to communications. “The project will ensure that 4 million of the population get the opportunity to benefit from the digital innovations Introduced in the public space and to ensure the achievement of sustainability and enhance connectivity across networks, we are implementing the National Ruasming Policy where networks can roam on each other’s networks where necessary to benefit the consumer.
We are rolling out 5G, and our ongoing testing of digit radio demonstrates our commitment to staying at the forefront of technological advancement”.
She made this statement when speaking at the 2024 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) held in Accra.
The Minister explained that, from the days of the introduction of mobile phones and computers into the space of public and private sectors, the Ministry had witnessed a trajectory of advancement in technological innovations which has indeed made the world a smaller place. “There has been great improvement in how we communicate by voice and the internet. We have also experienced the era of social media proliferation and virtual meeting applications with the sole aim of making our lives ever comfortable in our personal, business, and official dealings”.
She pointed out that, we have gotten to a stage where the world is advocating for innovations to solve developmental issues and also offer the opportunity for entrepreneurial development.
Cabinet according to Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has approved the Digital Economy Policy which is forward-looking with five (5) policy focus areas and strategies to enable Ghana to pursue the low-hanging initiatives that the policy identifies adding that, empowering individuals by fostering their competencies, capabilities, and skills to use digital technologies is one of the pillars of the digital economy policy.
“This Government has done a lot to ensure that women, youth, older persons, individuals with and without disabilities, and people living in both urban and rural areas have the necessary skills to leverage digital innovations indicating that the government, through the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, has trained 12,000 girls across the country in basic computer skills, scratch and other programs, offering them the opportunity to explore the digital realm”.
The government the Minister mentioned, recognizes the transformative potential of ICT in driving sustainable development saying, that several actions taken by the Government of Ghana in recent years demonstrate the country’s strong political commitment to digitization and digitalization of the Ghanaian economy led by the Vice President, His Excellency Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
The Director General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Dr. Joe Anokye in his welcome address averred that innovative technology can help tackle the world’s most pressing challenges, from fighting climate change to eliminating hunger and poverty.
He hinted further that, following the Policy Approval for the satellite licensing framework, his outfit has commenced implementation of the framework, very soon, the public would have the opportunity to access the innovative services that are being delivered over satellite to complement the terrestrial services which have served very well over the years.
“This will enhance the connectivity resilience of the country considering the recent disruption of undersea fiber optic cables on 14 March 2024. Developments in fibre optic technology revolutionized our connectivity to the Internet which is the vehicle for the delivery of many tech innovations. All countries rely heavily on fiber to connect to the Internet. Even Internet service from satellites depends on fiber optic connections to the Earth Station Gateways. That is why I have keenly followed the restoration of the faulty subsea cables”.
Dr. Joe Anokye used the occasion to announce that, all four (4) subsea cable landing service providers (ACE, MainOne, SAT-3, and WACS) have completed in years repair works on the subsea cables that got damaged leading to the March 14 incident.
“Repair works on SAT-3 cable was completed on 6″ April 2024 – The ACE cable was repaired on 17th April 2024. The WACS cable was repaired on 29% April 2024. The MainOne cable repairs were completed on May 8, 2024”.
He hinted that, according to the subsea cable service providers, all four cable faults were found at the crossing with a sub-sea canyon off the coast of Abidjan called Le Trou Sans Fond Canyon.
He was of the view that, together, there is a need to develop conditions that enable digital innovation and entrepreneurship to adopt and share insights on emerging digital technologies.
