Ghana: President Akufo-Addo Inaugurates Rural Telephony Project for Farming Communities

President Akufo-Addo speaking at the inauguration

Abenaso, Eastern Region, Ghana, August 4, 2018//-President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Friday, 3 August, 2018, inaugurated the rural telephony project, at Abenaso, in the Eastern Region, which connects the community and its surrounding communities with telecommunication service and ICT services in the country.

Majority of the people in the beneficiary communities are cocoa farmers.

“Indeed, the Abenaso rural telephony site, which I am inaugurating today, is part of 161 rural telephony sites and 85 repeater sites which have been completed within 18 months of my government, and which will be providing voice and data connectivity to approximately 500 communities across the country, he said.

By the end of this year, a total of  200 telephony sites, serving 1,000 communities will have been completed.

This is to be compared to only 78 such telephony sites during the entire eight years of the Mills/Mahama era,” President Akufo-Addo stated to thunderous applauds.

The inauguration of the Abenaso Project, the President said, will mean that Abenaso, together with 499 other rural communities across the country will enjoy 3G coverage.

President Akufo-Addo noted that expanding telephony connectivity services to rural communities in the country “will help open up Abenaso and other rural communities to opportunities for the development of skills and knowledge, as well the growth of businesses and the local economy”.

President Akufo-Addo noted that despite the significant spread of telecommunications services across the country, the distribution of basic telephony infrastructure is still very much concentrated in the major economic centres of the country.

That is why, he explained that, government continues to attach great importance to ensuring that telecommunication and ICT facilities, which can now be described as basic necessities of life, are available in all parts of the country.

In his own words: “Whilst Government is providing the requisite communications infrastructure throughout the country, we are also creating an enabling environment, through the policies implemented over the last 19 months, to encourage private sector investment in the communications sector”.

Through the National Communications Authority, Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), in partnership with MTN Ghana. and Huawei Technologies Ltd, the President stated that his government has begun rolling out the rural telephony project, which will provide data and voice connectivity to some 1,020, previously, unserved communities across the country.

He continued: “Such is the commitment of Government to ensuring the realization of today’s ceremony that taxes, such as VAT, customs duties and other import levies, were waived for the equipment brought into the country for the project. I express my deep appreciation to our traditional authorities, across the country, for generously donating parcels of land for the project to take off.”

President Akufo-Addo therefore urged the traditional authorities in Abenaso and other beneficiary communities to “utilize fully the opportunities that this project will bring to them.

We would want to see this project bring about a positive impact on the lives of residents of this community and other beneficiary communities.”

President Akufo-Addo also urged the youth gathered “to take advantage of the opportunities that will be afforded to you by this facility. You are living in perhaps the most exciting time in our history, so please make the best of it. Some say this is our time. I say this is your time, and tomorrow will be the time of your children.”

He reiterated his commitment to building a new Ghanaian civilization, “where fair opportunities are given to all to live dignified, productive lives by dint of their hard work, creativity and sense of enterprise. It is a promising phase in the Ghanaian journey.”

Expanding access to electronic communications

The Minister of Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said the inauguration of the Abenaso project marks a significant milestone in the country’s desire to expand access to electronic communications to people in the underserved and unserved communities.

“That is why we at the Ministry of Communications are excited by the partnership between GIFEC, MTN and Huawei on this project”, she said.

The ultimate objective of the rural telephony programme, according to Mrs Owusu-Ekuful is to achieve 100% mobile telephone service coverage throughout Ghana.

On his part, the Administrator for Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), Abraham Asante, added: “We believe that electronic communication is one of the social services that has the potential of changing the living standards of rural communities and positioning Ghana as a digital hub in the sub-region”.

He used the opportunity to urge the stakeholders and the GIFEC to increase their participation in the delivery of universal access to ICTs which is a catalyst for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

MTN-GIFEC collaboration

The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Selorm Dadevoh, noted that; “the MTN-GIFEC collaboration has been very effective and we are pleased to inform you that 98 out of the 100 sites planned for July 2018 delivery are fully operational across the nine regions in Ghana”.

He continued: “We are committed to ensuring that every Ghanaian enjoys the full benefit of the internet and emergence of digital technology”.

The second phase of the project, Mr Adadevoh revealed involves 200 sites which are currently at various stages of completion and scheduled to be fully operational before December, making a total 300 new sites rolled out in 2018.

Additionally, this solution will be rolled out on some existing rural sites to improve experience in those areas, the CEO stated.

By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, African Eye Report

 

 

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