The government’s target to construct 3,500 rural telephony sites in unconnected communities to benefit four million people is on course.

A total of 1,010 sites have been constructed, while 1,006 sites are in the process of completion to facilitate smooth and sustainable access to voice and data communications.

The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, made this known at the third edition of the Tech Fair of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in Sunyani last Friday.

She said the initiative was being implemented under the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project (GRT&DIP), which was constructing 2, 016 sites.

"We are on course with the completion of the GRT&DIP to build 3,500 cell sites," she said. The fair, hosted by the Department of Information, Technology and Decision Sciences (ITDS) of the university was held on the theme: "The future is now: Integrating digitalisation in Ghana's development agenda."

Industrial revolution

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the ministry had focused on implementing projects and policies governing Information Communications Technology (ICT) and Telecommunication sectors to enable the country participate fully in the fourth industrial revolution.

She said digital technology had the capacity to create jobs, significantly boost productivity, increase incomes, support wealth creation and increase countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"If we fail to digitise all sectors of the economy, we will be uncompetitive in the emerging digital revolution," she said.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the country had made remarkable strides in the use of digital transformation to build a robust economy, enable businesses to thrive, students to learn and citizens to connect.

She said one of the government's key priorities was to establish a robust digital infrastructure to bridge the digital gap.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the investment by the ministry was targeted at facilitating the delivery of essential services and improving the efficiency of the government’s operations.

Training

She said the Ghana-Indian Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT had trained 50,215 individuals such as the youth, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and market women in digital literacy, artificial intelligence and data analytics.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the ministry had also trained about 14,000 girls aged between nine and 16 in ICT under the Girls in ICT Initiative, including 1,300 teachers.

She said the programme was to influence girls to choose STEM-related courses and careers, develop critical thinking and research skills to solve local problems.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful urged the students  to embrace innovation, be problem solvers and explore the emerging technologies.

She said the government was also investing to enhance digital security such as ensuring data confidentiality, information integrity, authentication and data access control.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said 10 STEM senior high schools had been built and provided with smart classrooms.

Reforms

The Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Samuel George Nartey, called for reforms in the country's educational system to include digital literacy as a core curriculum component from the basic to tertiary level.

He said the reforms would equip students with skills to thrive in the digital economy.

Mr Nartey said integration of digital technology into the developmental agenda could drive economic growth and enhance social inclusion. He bemoaned the high cost of the Internet, emphasising that the next National Democratic Congress (NDC) government would make it less expensive.

Entrepreneurship

Mr Nartey said innovation and entrepreneurship were critical drivers of economic growth and the digital economy. He said the NDC's next administration would create an environment that encouraged and supported start-ups.

"This will be achieved through the promised $50 million fintech Growth Fund to facilitate local innovation and entrepreneurship among the youth," he said.

Mr Nartey said digitalisation was a key to unlocking Ghana's full potential, saying, "the journey towards a digitised Ghana requires our collective effort, visionary leadership and the commitment to innovation."

He said the next NDC administration would work closely with academia and industry to achieve a truly inclusive digitalised Ghana.
Mr Nartey urged faculties to produce students who were industry ready.

Digital hub

The Head of the Department of ITDS, Dr Peter Appiahene, said the goal of the department was to position UENR and the Bono Region as a digital hub, attracting talents and investment to further drive the national digital agenda.

"We want to make the Bono Region the digital hub of Ghana and beyond and this is not just rhetoric. There are over 2,000 students offering BSc and Diploma in Information Technology," he said.

He expressed the department’s commitment to foster a culture of creativity and excellence among the students. Mr Appiahene said the fair had helped some students to gain employment in some industries.

He said the department had planned to expand the tech fair initiative to include more comprehensive digital literacy programmes, advanced research projects in emerging technologies and collaboration with international tech organisations