Africa-Press – Ghana. Mr Prince Ofosu Sefah, the Administrator of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), has reiterated that 200 more ICT labs will be established this year, as part of its Cyberlabs Programme.
He said this, when he inspected select Cyberlabs, Community ICT Centres (CICs) and Rural Telephony Sites and engaged key stakeholders of the Fund in Western Region.
The Administrator, together with a Technical Support Team, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Amenfi Central-Mr P.H. Amponteng and Mr Lord Nana Tandoh – Municipal Chief Executive of Amenfi West Municipality, visited newly-constructed Community ICT Centres (CICs), new Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Cell Sites and an existing Cyberlab at Manso Amenfi and Amuni.
He said the equipment would soon be deployed to the new CICs for their operationalisation and reiterated the need to establish Municipal/District multi-stakeholder Management Committees to manage and maintain the ICT centres, to continue to benefit the people of the community.
The Administrator mentioned that some of the CICs would facilitate the training of over 10,000 citizens this year, as part of GIFEC’s ICT Capacity Building and Skills Development Programme.
He admonished the communities to develop a solid maintenance culture, supported by a similarly improving culture at GIFEC, to ensure the people continue to benefit from these resources for a longer time. Mr Sefah also inspected Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project Sites at Amuni and Nkakaa, both in the Amenfi Central District.
The project is being implemented by GIFEC on behalf of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, as part of Government’s unprecedented $200 million Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project, which started in 2020 and slated to be completed in 2023 and which was to build 2,016 Rural Network Sites. The project has built about half of the planned 2,016 Sites so far.
The Administrator highlighted the uniqueness of the Nkakaa Site, which used Aerial Fibre technology, a solution used in communities with difficult topography, and was being deployed in five communities within the Western and Western North Regions, to overcome technical constraints that had hitherto made it impossible for these communities to get cell phone Network Access.
Mr Sefah also paid a Courtesy call on the Chief of Amuni, Nana Twumasi Ampaw, who commended the management of GIFEC for their intervention and encouraged more engagements for enhanced relationship between the two parties.
There, Mr Sefah responded to reports of unstable electricity in the area with a promise to get back with a possible solar-powered solution. He also promised to explore adding another Site in the area, to improve the quality of the Network.
His visit to the Western Region forms part of his tour of GIFEC Project Sites across the country to inspect and engage with key Stakeholders. He had recently visited the Central and Ashanti Regions.
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