Ministry inaugurates three eCICs in Upper West

Students and people of Lassie-Tuolu, Nandom and Wellembelle communities in the Upper West Region can now acquire ICT skills following the inauguration of three enhanced Community Information Centres (eCICs) in the communities.

The Ministry of Communications constructed the three facilities to help address challenges students faced as they travelled long distances in search of internet services to either register or access their results.

The inauguration of the facilities brings to 21 eCICs put up across the country.

Dr Edward Omane Boamah, the Minister of Communications, said the eCICs were funded by a loan from the China EXIM Bank and executed by Huawei Technologies Limited.

He said each facility was an inclusive solution in its entirety as it had all the IT equipment namely; a switch rack, router, server, computers, UPS, photocopier and printer among other things.

Dr Omane Boamah said the mandate of the Ministry was driven by the four pillars of government’s development agenda, namely: putting people first; strong economy and job creation; expanding infrastructure for growth; and transparent and accountable governance.

He said beyond the completion of the 21 eCICs within one year, the Ministry had also deployed generation networks across the country to enhance effective communications among the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to improve upon their operations and services.

Dr Omane Boamah informed the people about the commissioning of the Eastern Corridor Fibre Optic Backbone Project by the President, which, he said, would serve 120 communities and create jobs for the youth of communities along the corridor.

He said government had commenced the process to migrate Ghana from analogue to an energy efficient Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting in line with international standards.

The project, which is expected to be completed by March 2016, would lead to improved channel choice, crystal clear pictures and quality sound for consumers.

The Minister revealed that government was constructing an eight-million dollar Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Centre near the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, which had the potential to create 10,000 direct jobs for the youth.

He said government had reached a partnership agreement with the Republic of Mauritius for the latter to invest over US$200 million in the ICT Park at the Tema Free Zone Enclave, which when completed would create several thousands of jobs for the youth.

He said the Ministry of Communications had put a number of mechanisms in place to address issues such as cybercrime, cyber security and abuse of children online through the setting up of a Computer Emergency Response Team.

Alhaji Amidu Sulemana, the Upper West Regional Minister, urged students to develop keen interest in the facility since it would help them to research and acquire knowledge and skills for the job market.

He commended the chiefs for readily making land available for the project and assured them that government would not relent on its effort to bring the needed development to the area.

Alhaji Sulemana appealed to the people to develop the culture of maintenance in order to preserve and protect the huge investment made.

Mr Joseph Yelle Chireh, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wa West Constituency, thanked the Communications Minister for the facility and also appealed for the improvement of mobile networks in the area to enhance communication.