Ghana ICT Policy and Plan Development Committee

The National ICT Policy and Plan Development Committee had a public lecture at the University of Development Studies on Friday 23rd May 2003 as part of the National Consultative exercise aimed at developing an ICT-driven socio-economic development policy and plan.

A presentation was made by Mr. Mohammed Sani Abdulai, Member of the National ICT Policy and Plan Development Committee on the topic: ‘The Ghana ICT for Accelerated Development Process: The Challenge of Our Time’.

The forum was attended by the Pro Vice Chancellor, Lecturers, Staff and Students of the University as well as the media.

The deployment of ICTs and its accompanying facilities should be an important part of the policy and plan.

In relation to human resource development, ICT must be introduced in the nations educational system from the basic level to the tertiary level in order to encourage creativity in the area of art and technical disciplines where children build gadgets from their imagination based on local ideas and technologies that could be developed to benefit our unique situation

ICT training must be made mandatory from the basic levels to secondary level. Computer science studies must be emphasized at the tertiary level to afford students the opportunity to explore, exploit and create using the ICT technology.

The policy must investigate ways in which the country could assemble its own computers to suit the local conditions and also reduce the high cost of computers in the country.

It is Important for the ICT programme to spread to all corners of the country; churches must come on board to spread the message of the new technological age.

There is the need to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of the telecommunications facilities before the introduction of ICT.

There is the need for the introduction of e-health to assist the deprived areas where hundreds of people die daily.

It is important that in the formulation of the policy, a clause is inserted to ensure a standard fee is charged for Internet connectivity nationwide.

Much attention must be paid to the deployment of ICTs within the Agricultural sector. Farmers need to be educated on the use of new and better farming methods as well as for research to improve the Agriculture sector, which is the backbone of the economy.

Interconnectivity between the various educational institutions in the country must be encouraged in order to improve the sharing of information.

There is the need to build a complete and viable website for Governmental issues, where issues concerning the Government and its activities would be available to keep the populace alive on Government activities.

It is important to insulate the ICT process from party politics to achieve socio-economic development for the nation as a whole.

Issues of accessibility and cost of ICT must be discussed bearing in mind the income levels of all people in the country. The availability of telephone lines to facilitate connectivity to the Internet must also be addressed.

In order to ensure capacity development, the policy must ensure that the appropriate ICT infrastructures are developed to train professionals in the sector.

The policy must also address concerns bothering on the reliability of the Internet services and the support services of the electricity and telecommunication facilities in the country.

The Government must address the issue of affordability for the average Ghanaian. The cost of computers and its accessories must be taken into consideration.

It is important to develop the human resource base of the country; in this regard adequate infrastructure must be deployed to the various higher learning institutions in the country.

The issue of maintenance and sustainability must be addressed in the policy. Local companies who assemble computers must have a guarantee and be able to meet international standards.· The issue of maintenance and sustainability must be addressed in the policy. Local companies who assemble computers must have a guarantee and be able to meet international standards.

ICTs must be deployed to the public service to enhance the work of the public sector and improve the Government machinery

Human resource development should be given priority as a broad base for the acceleration of other sectors of the economic.

There is the need to consider the deployment of ICTs in records management since it is the nerve center of a meaningful and successful development. Easy access to records is crucial in national development.

The development of every nation depends solely on the human resource. Ghana can only develop if the educational institutions place emphasis on ICT and training graduates of ICT.

It is important for the ICT Committee to focus attention on industrial research/technology in agricultural and education.

It is important to consider information delivery systems to the rural folk. There is therefore the need to strengthen the extension department in the rural areas.

There is the need to consider the deployment of ICT in rural health delivery system and the means of strengthening of efficient health delivery to the rural centers by the rural health worker.