GIFEC is using its Smart Communities Project to bridge the internet gap between peri-urban and urban areas to position Ghana as an IT-driven country.

The Smart Communities project, which is being piloted in Brong Ahafo and the Western regions, is providing Wi-Fi in public establishments such as schools, hospitals, banks, police stations and marketplaces, among others.

Four communities are set to benefit from the Smart Community initiative – Asumura, Berekum, Goaso and Asankragua in the Brong Ahafo and Western regions respectively.

The Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, having toured the project site at Asumura in the Brong Ahafo region on Monday, February 5, 2018, was optimistic that linking more rural areas to the internet under the Smart Communities Project will accelerate development and transform the economy.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said as the Akufo-Addo-led government formalises the economy it will be much easier to start paying farmers and other sectors of the economy electronically, adding the Smart Community Project is an attestation that “E-commerce can strive in rural areas.”

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, who doubles as the MP for Ablekuma West, hailed GIFEC for the project since it “will facilitate E-governance because all the district agencies will be given access to the internet and deal seamlessly with one another in terms of provision of services as well as sending and receiving feedback.”

The Communication Minister was optimistic the country stands to benefit immensely from the project because it will also help reduce corruption in the public sector.

She noted that information and technology are pre-requites in development hence bringing them to the doorsteps of the deprived is a laudable initiative hence the need to support GIFEC Secretariat to spread the project to other communities. She appealed to the beneficiary communities to maintain the facilities to extend their lifespan.

For her part, the Danish Ambassador to Ghana, Tove Degnbol, promised that as partners in development, her country will continue to support the digitalisation process of government to boost the various sectors of the economy.

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Source: Starr FM

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A statement signed by Ms Veronica Commey, Senior Corporate Affairs Manager, GIFEC, said all 54 sites are currently operational.

The project, which is being undertaken in collaboration between GIFEC, Ericson and mobile telecommunications giants MTN, cost $12 million.

GIFEC in collaboration with Ericson and MTN earlier in the year signed a Memorandum of Understanding to construct 55 sites using the GIFEC model and a further 25 sites under the GIFEC Satellite HUB project launched in Accra last week.

GIFEC spearheaded the acquisition of land permits, while MTN is the service provider with Ericsson supplying the infrastructure and maintenance support.

The construction of the masts under the project will help improve the communication coverage in the country.

The ultimate objective of the project is to achieve virtually 100 per cent mobile telephone service coverage throughout the country, and to also increase telephone subscribership to as many citizens as possible.

The purpose of the Rural Telephony Project is to extend the coverage of wireless mobile telephone services as far as possible into all areas of the country where access to such services is not adequately available, and where existing licensed operators have proven unwilling or unable to expand their networks, due to commercial, geographical or other constraints.

The project required the installation and operation of appropriate network and infrastructure although the precise configurations for each location and project were technology-neutral and determined on a case-by- case basis.

The criteria for the site selection and implementation of the RTP project include a formal request by the communities or villages with no existing services from the operators, communities with population of one thousand (1,000) or more, areas where the Mobile Network Operators (MNO), would ordinarily not go but yet need connectivity and through requests from relevant stakeholders.

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Source: GNA

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The donation, valued at GH¢ 3.034 million, was done as part of the GIFEC’s School Connectivity Project, aimed at improving access to ICT in educational institutions.

The beneficiaries comprise six schools for the Hearing Impaired, 16 Integrated Community Centres for Employable Skills, 10 Girls Schools, Seven Government Secretarial Schools, six Nursing Training Schools and 16 Senior High Schools.

The schools for the Deaf received 84 desktop computers, 84 UPS, 12 Air conditioners and six projectors, while the 16 ICCES had 160 Desktop Computers, 160 UPS, 16 air conditioners and 16 projectors.

For the Senior High Schools, they received 240 desktop computers and an equal number of UPS, while the Girls Schools were given 150 Desktop Computers, 150 UPS, eight air conditioners and 10 projectors.

Seven Government Secretarial Schools also got 110 desktop computers and UPS, 14 air conditioners and seven projectors, while six nursing training schools took 120 desktop computers, 120 UPS, 12 air conditioners and six projectors.

Presenting the items, Mr Kwabena Owusu Akyeampong, the Administrator GIFEC, said the donation formed part of the mandate of the institution to facilitate the provision of ICT equipment and service to educational institutions across the country.

He urged the students to take advantage of the opportunity made available to them to improve their knowledge and skills in ICT in order to get themselves ready for the job market after completion of school.

Mr Akyeampong called on the beneficiary schools to ensure a healthy maintenance culture to ensure that government funds were put to effective use.

Mr Christopher Beyere, the Executive Secretary of Health Training Institutions, lauded GIFEC for the donation and called on the Government to allocate more resources to the organisation to enable it to support more institutions.

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Source: GNA

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