The first phase, which is dubbed the Southern Loop with an extension to Tamale, is currently on trial.
The Deputy Minister of Communication, Mr Frederick Opare-Ansah, who made this known in Accra, said the completion of the first phase would pave the way for ICT programmes to be undertaken nationwide and thereby bridge the digital divide between the rural and urban areas.
Addressing the official launch of the 2nd Ghana ICT Awards, Mr Opare-Ansah said "when the broadband capacity is sufficiently made available to all parts of the country, it will be possible to undertake ICT programmes and enable the country to bridge the digital divide between the communities and urban and cities".
The awards scheme is designed to serve as a key catalyst for the government and the private sector to create awareness on the role of ICT in national development.
Mr Opare-Ansah explained that the ICT backbone project was part of the broadband infrastructure expected to be used to undertake and implement Information Communication Technology (ICT) programmes in governance, health, education, commerce and agriculture.
He said the ICT awards reinforced the commitment of the government to place emphasis on the potential of ICT in building an information and knowledge society for accelerated development.
He noted that Ghana had witnessed improvements in the communication sector, adding that "the significant improvement is due to the enabling environments and confidence generated for a healthy compassion among the industry players".
"In a bid to enhance quality service delivery, the government in recent times has carried out an extensive study in the sector to enable us to introduce this awards to support and inject professionalism into the sector," Mr Opare-Ansah added.
In his response, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Communication, Mr Kojo Armah, appealed to Ghanaians to join hands with the government to institutionalise the awards as an annual activity so as to boost the morale of industry players.
Mr Kojo Armah said the formal award would take place on May 17 at the Accra International Conference Centre to provide a platform for stakeholders to contribute their input to the success of the nation.
"As the world celebrates World Telecom and Information day, the award is expected to be an exciting evening of celebrating achievements of the ICT sector over the years," he noted.
The awards categories are Top ICT personality of the year, Top Telecom provider of the year, Top hardware and software of the year, Top government ICT project of the year, Top Internet cafe of the year and the Best ICT incubate/young ICT personality of the year.
Other awards include Best foreign entity supporting ICT development in Ghana, Top ICT training institution of the year, Top ICT4D project of the year and Top ISP of the year.
---
Quelle/Source: Joy Online, 26.03.2008
