IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

"In the relative short period since the development of our national ICT vision, Ghana has witnessed appreciable growth in the ICT sector. Telephone subscription has hit the eight million mark, giving a telephone density of nearly 40 percent," said Aggrey-Ntim earlier this month at the ITU Africa Region Preparatory Meeting for the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) in Accra.

Dr Omane-Boamah said in anticipation of this and in partnership with the internet community, Government was supporting the development of critical internet infrastructure by arranging for the supply of three additional switches for Internet Exchange Points and a Root Name Server to improve internet traffic, reduce its costs, promote local content development and, above all, reinforce its security to make it secure and safe for users.

Ghana has spent millions of U.S dollars on programs like National Identification program, Biometric Voters register and recently, Ghana had Population and housing census which results still remains in a Limbo .Apart from the millions of financial resources that have been spent on some of these programs without success, the magnitude of the various allegations that have been leveled against each other in the political dispensation in our country nowadays is not something to write home about. If a sustainable system is not implemented in the country, some few unscrupulous politicians and civil servants will take our dear country for ransom, thereby contributing to hopelessness of the future generation.

Dr Osei Kofi Darkwa, President of Ghana Telecom University College (GTUC), who made the observation at the opening session of a Healthcare and ICT Needs Assessment Stakeholders’ workshop in Accra on Tuesday, said the country’s health system had not fully responded to multiple health challenges confronting it.

In a remote corner of Ghana ‘telemedicine’ is proving how effective digital care can be when coverage is extended to those on the medical margins, write Koku Awoonor-William and Ann Aerts

IN LOW and middle-income countries, insufficient access to medical care undermines health outcomes and disadvantages entire generations.

The project aims at modernizing key ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to support the provision of citizen-friendly services through ICT.

Three amendment bills, including the Registeration of Business Names (Amendment) bill 2011 and the Companies (Amendment) bill 2011 are before the House for amendment.

He hinted that increasing rural connectivity by applying developing technologies would accelerate the overall development of the country.

The head of the London-based telecommunication organization was speaking at the launch of the 5th Annual Connecting Rural Communities Africa Forum 2010, which is scheduled to take place in Ghana from August 17 to 19 2010.

The e-Ghana Projects have three components; e-Health Project; E-Education Project and e-Justice System.

The e-Health Project, is being deployed at three sites; Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Wa Government Hospital and Zebilla District Hospital, to transform the hospitals and medical facilities to utilize ICTs as much as possible.

The third annual edition of the Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) ranks Ghana 89th among 110 countries. Covering 90% of the global population, the DQL study is conducted by the cybersecurity company Surfshark and evaluates countries based on a set of five fundamental digital wellbeing pillars. Joining the study for the first time, Ghana displays comparatively low results in internet affordability (106th), internet quality (99th), e-infrastructure (99th), e-security (78th), and e-government (83rd).

Regionally, Ghana ranks 2nd in Western Africa, surpassing Senegal, Mali, and Côte D’Ivoire. Nigeria ranks 1st in the region, but Ghana outperforms the country in internet affordability and e-government. Additionally, broadband internet is four times faster and two times more affordable in Ghana than in Nigeria. However, Ghana still ranks on the lower end of the internet affordability index. People in Ghana have to work almost 21 hours to afford the cheapest broadband internet package, 3.5 more than the global average.

Project Manager for the GRA E-governance Project, Paul Kwakye told Adom News tax collection organisations like the VAT Service, Internal Revenue Service and CEPS used to give businesses tax identification numbers without asking for the picture ID cards of the business owners, but that has created room for people to do multiple registrations and evade tax.

The project which is a public-private partnership is an initiative that is aimed at linking the GRA to the RGD electronically to ensure GRA has access to database of registered business for easy tracking and for tax purposes.

Mr Anthony Minlah, Commissioner of the Support Services Division of GRA, announced at a day’s sensitization seminar for the media on registration and e-registration of taxpayers in Accra on Monday.

The idea for the identification cards was to give businesses TIN under the E-government project to make tax collecting and payment easy and also to prevent multiple registrations as well as to bring onboard individuals who avoid tax.

To achieve this, the exercise has been divided into three different categories, which clients could register or re-register with the 11 pilot sites of GRA or GRD head office, after which they would be given new Tax Identification Number (TIN) and new certificate.

He said the ICTAAD was also being streamlined to respond to changes in global economy and advances in the technological environment.

He was speaking on: “Ongoing Policy Reforms in the ICT Sector-Opportunities for the Nation’s Private Sector,” at the 2nd Business Executives Luncheon and meeting of the Western and Central Regional Branch of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) in Takoradi.

The Deputy Minister of Communication, Edward Ato Sarpong, told Biztechafrica that he believes the completion of a national fibre network in Ghana will present opportunities for the country's entrepreneurs to use it to improve not only their lives but also those of their communities.

Dr Robert Awuah Baffour, Vice President of the University, who disclosed this, said “Women are not born to be nurses, teachers, or midwives while men are born to be engineers”.

He said in order to change this situation, the “GTUC will continue to introduce programmes and incentives that will encourage young women to take interest in ICT…that is why we reward girls who excel in ICT related courses.”

The Rockefeller Foundation and the World Bank announced a $3.8 million grant to the Ghanaian government to support the establishment of world class facilities that will attract IT and IT enabled firms, including Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms to Ghana and creates jobs for Ghanaian youth.

The beneficiary agencies included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional integration, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Food and Drugs Board, Births and Death Registry, National Health Insurance Scheme, National Communication Authority, National Information Technology Agency, Passport Office, Minerals Commission and Registrar Generals Department.

Mr William Tevie, Director General of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) announced this at the stakeholder consultative meeting on the implementation of the e-payment systems in Accra on Tuesday.

The NHIS plans to issue the biometric ID cards to its subscribers upon registration.

The e-claims processing pilots will start this year and will aim at creating greater efficiencies. The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) will be opening three more claims centers throughout the country, in addition to the center in Accra.