The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD), Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful was on Monday, May 8, 2023, joined by the Administrator for Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), Mr. Prince Sefah to commission Two (2) sites as part of the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project (GRT & DIP) at Damongo in the Savannah Region. She also inspected 2 Telephony sites and interacted with the community.
The Project is being implemented by GIFEC through the Ministry with the goal of providing internet connectivity to the unserved and the underserved. It is also to ensure that no individual will be left behind in the country’s digitalisation transformation agenda.
Inspection of Murugu Telephony Site
The Minister first made a stop at Murugu to familiarize herself with work progress at the community telephony site and to also brief them on the Girls-In-ICT (GIICT) programme so far.
She explained that the GIICT Programme should not be politicised in order not to undermine the importance of the initiative.
“We are here in the region to celebrate Girls-In-ICT and some girls from Mururgu are part of the training. We want to be sure that they continue using the computer literacy and coding skills that have been given to them”.
Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful assured the community that the Ministry together with GIFEC will be working tirelessly to resolve all the technical challenges that had caused the delay in the completion of the site. “You have my assurance that I will come here in the next 3 months to commission your site for you to also have access to internet connectivity to enhance service delivery”.
Commissioning of Mognori Village GRT & DIP
The Minister, Mrs. Ursula-Ekuful and her entourage were received with a colourful cultural dance to exhibit their pleasure and appreciation to her and the government for the establishment of the rural telephony project.
She commissioned the telephony communication mask with a call on the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for West Gonja, Hon. Karim Musah Kusubari and the Community Leaders to protect the telephony facility in order to attain the full benefit of internet connectivity.
She reiterated government’s commitment to building a digital Ghana and as such nobody would be left behind as “we are building a digital Ghana through the digital transformational agenda.
The Administrator for GIFEC in his comments mentioned that, his office was set up since 2004 with goal of providing internet connectivity across the country under GRT & DIP and since then the GIFEC under its turnure had choked many successes and will continue to work hard to improve on its performance.
Langantere Community Engagement
During the inspection of Langantere telephony site and a community engagement, the Minister applauded the community members for their patience and keeping faith with the government which is putting up measures to address their challenges, especially with access to internet connectivity and digital inclusion and also bring development to the community.
She reiterated that the government was implementing several initiatives that were geared towards establishing a resilient digital economy that would also empower women through ICT skills.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful informed them that, the Langantere site would be commissioned by the end of 2023.
Commissioning of Sumpiini GRT & DIP
The Minister concluded her tour at Sumpiini on the note that government was happy to commission Sumpiinis’s telephony network site and give the people an opportunity to also enjoy easy access to internet connectivity which would also empower the youth to work remotely and without difficulties.
She also emphasised that the commissioning of the network plays a pivotal role in the Girl-In-ICT programme since it will encourage the girls to continue learning and improve on their knowledge.
The Minister called on the women to also leverage on the internet to sell their farm produce online which has a wider reach globally.
She mentioned that when the community appealed to government through their Member of Parliament about the need to have a reliable network, her ministry did not relent but took their request very seriously and today “we had a good site where we could build this network and connect it and by God’s grace were here today to commission it I don’t have to preach to you about the benefits of digitalization you are experiencing it yourself and for those who don’t know how to get access to this network to the officials of the effect would walk you through it”.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful stated that internet connectivity has become a tool that facilitates the development of the entire country, and it is as much a utility as electricity or water so “I’m glad that you’ve also been connected to the National Grid, and now you’ve been connected to the Rural telephony network, so you don’t have any excuse not to utilise it to the fullest.
She urged young men and women to utilise digital technology to do their work such as online marketing and other delivery services. With access to internet connectivity, you can apply for a passport online, a driving licence, health insurance, your school results and many other government services online sitting here without moving to the city just by the use of digital technology to improve Ghana’s digital economy.
