Communications Minister looking to improve rural service in Ghana
The Ministry of Communications is focused on utilising Information Communication Technology (ICT) to improve the efficiency of service delivery in Ghana, with attention on rural and undeserved communities in Ghana

Communications Minister looking to improve rural service in Ghana

The Ministry of Communications is focused on utilising Information Communication Technology (ICT) to improve the efficiency of service delivery in Ghana, with attention on rural and undeserved communities.

Ursula Owusu Ekuful said the Ministry is determined to create job opportunities, facilitate ICT based entrepreneurship and securing cyber space for the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In addition, it wants to ensure gender parity and opportunities for the youth through the nurturing of new business.

As part of measures to further regulate the operations of the National Communication Authority (NCA), Ekuful said an industry Computer Emergency Response Terms (CERT) has been established for the telecommunications ecosystem in view of the increased use of networks for the provision of services to ensure the security and safety of networks, adding that this will further lead to the creation of jobs as more human resources would be required to operate them.

Regarding rural telephony projects, the Minister said it seeks to extend the coverage of mobile telephony services as far as possible throughout the country, especially where access to such services are not adequately available.

In this direction, she announced that 400 rural telephony sites had been constructed under the project this year to provide voice and data connectivity which has provided coverage for 2,000 communities with a population of 900,000. The Ministry intends to scale this up to cover all unserved and underserved communities by 2020.

She reiterated that the Ministry would ensure that electronic communications equipment manufactured or imported into the country for sale or use conform to national and international standards for safety of users, networks and the environment as well as provide the requisite quality of service.

Click below to share this article

Browse our latest issue

Intelligent CIO Africa

View Magazine Archive