To bridge the country’s yawning technology usage gap, government is committing US$2.6million to establish innovation centres across the country – seeking to equip about 3,000 Ghanaians with digital literacy skills by next year.
The deputy Communications and Digitalisation Minister, Ama Pomaa Boateng, made this known during the 2023 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) organised by the National Communications Authority (NCA) under the auspices of the Communications and Digitalisation Ministry.
“Government is not relenting on its promise to ensure that no one is left behind,” she stated.
The global theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Empowering the least developed countries through Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs)’, though the country’s adopted theme is ‘Public-private partnership to improve connectivity’.
According to the United Nations and International Telecommunication Union (ITU), over 2.7 billion people in the world are unconnected.
However, Ghana’s digital ecosystem is one of the best-performing sectors in the country; growing on average by 19 percent annually between 2014 and 2020, according to the World Bank.
Ghana is among the digital leaders in sub-Saharan Africa, but the Digital Economy diagnostic conducted in 2020 identified key bottlenecks that need to be removed to further accelerate the country’s digital transformation, the World Bank adds.
The deputy minister says government makes it a priority to invest in ICT infrastructure so as to ensure universal connectivity.
Thus, the country has extensive coverage by land-fibre through the efforts of government and the private sector to serve as a backbone for broadband deployment.
Notwithstanding all this, Ms. Pomaa Boateng said more investment is needed to ensure everyone has access to information communication technology tools.
“Citizens must have access to devices in order to interact meaningfully, and also transact public and private services online without any barriers,” she notes.
Board Chairman at NCA, Isaac Emmil Osei-Bonsu Jnr – who spoke on behalf of the ITU General-Secretary, said empowering LDCs to connect with the rest of the world is a collective responsibility, requiring public-private collaboration and partnerships.
