Accra, Ghana

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bortianor/Ngleshie-Amanfro, Bright
E. K. Demordzi, has stated that if Information Communication Technology (ICT) devices are being utilised properly, it would ensure more safety on the major roads.

According to Mr. Demordzi, some of the accidents recorded on the major roads were a result of the wrong use of some ICT devices such as the mobile phone.
"It is a common practice to see drivers on highways driving whilst communicating with their cell phones. A number of recorded road accidents have been attributed to distractions arising from the use of cell phones," he said.

The MP for Bortianor/Ngleshie Amanfro made this pronouncement on the floor of Parliament House yesterday, when delivering a statement to commemorate the World's Telecommunication and ICT Day.
The World's Telecommunication and ICT Day is celebrated all over the world on the 17th of May every year. The celebration was designated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The organisation has about 193 countries as members, including Ghana.

The theme for this year's celebration is "ICT and Road Safety", and Mr. Demordzi believes that such a theme could not have been any better, since road safety had become a global concern which needed to be addressed.

He said the idea was aimed at leveraging ICT to improve on road safety across the globe.
Advancing his argument, Mr. Demordzi said about 1.3 million people die through road accidents, out of which 20-50 million got injured, mainly in the developing countries around the world.
In Ghana alone, he said, 2,249 people lost their lives, while 14,181 got injured in 2012, according to statistics released by the Motor Traffic Transport Unit (MTTU).

He lamented that in his constituency, the major road from Mallam Junction to Winneba records, on the average, one road accident a day.
This, he noted was worrying, and expressed the belief that "ICT can assist authorities improve on road safety in Ghana."
His statement was supported by some Members of the House, who argued that such a statement could not have been admitted at a better time, considering the number of road accidents the nation had witnessed in recent times.

The MP for Adaklu, Mr. Agbodza Kwame Governs, said the importance of ICT would be best achieved, if, and when, its prospects are applied to other sectors of the economy, like in other countries in the world.
He said doing so would further foster the development and proper achievement of ICT.

On his part, the MP for Okaikwei Central, Mr. Patrick Yaw Boamah, said he was disturbed by the poor services being rendered by telecommunication companies in the country, since "people pay so much for services that they do not enjoy."

He opined that the telecommunication industry does not invest in the necessary areas they ought to have invested, a situation, he bemoaned, was having a negative impact on the economy.

To that effect, Mr. Yaw Boamah called on the Ministry of Communications to enforce the existing telecommunication laws, to compel players in the industry to do the right thing.

The Chronicle Ghana

Accra, Ghana

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts in Africa have been tasked to develop workable solutions to address the numerous challenges in the mobile communications sector to accelerate economic development.

Dr Osei Darkwa, President of the Ghana Technology University (GTUC), who made the statement during the Second GTUC Conference in Accra recently, asked the experts to explore opportunities in the mobile communications sector to speed up development.
The conference was on the theme: “Applications of Mobile Communications in Africa: Prospects and Challenges”.

A statement signed by Ms Afua Amankwa Sarkodie, Head of Public Relations of GTUC, and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Friday, quoted Dr Darkwa as saying; “Today, the mobile phone is used to send text messages, transfer money, promote health services and provide access to education”.

There was, therefore, the need for Africa to cooperate with Europe in research and development, deployment and operations, consultancies and education and to learn best practices, the statement said.
It said: “In a continent where people have more access to mobile phones than to clean water, it is important for academics and experts to find innovative ways of using the mobile phone to solve some of Africa’s problems”.

The statement said mobile communications had been advancing at a fast pace in Africa and increasingly used as a platform to address challenges in health, education and banking.
It said through innovative Public Sector Reforms in ICT, there had been enormous development and prospects in Sub-Sahara Africa, though, more needed to be done.

The statement said there existed enormous opportunities for mobile and internet sub-sectors in Africa, because the economies were expanding, leading to broadening of the consumer base.
The statement said mobile markets in sub-Saharan Africa were very competitive with investors around the world keeping watch over events as innovative service offerings were being rolled out by multiple network operators.

Africa is the second most populous region of the world with over one billion inhabitants.
According to the statement though there had been tremendous growth rates in mobile communications, particularly in fiber optic cables and market penetration rates for fixed telephony, mobile communications and broadband internet remained relatively low.
It said the conference examined development of mobile communications in mark
ets, regulations, business strategies and mobile communications for economic, social, and human development.
Participants came from academia, business, and policy and regulation sectors.

Ghana News Agency (GNA)

Aided by biometric data, the authorities will be able to account accurately for everyone entering and leaving the country

  

The world leader in digital security, has been appointed as prime contractor and turnkey supplier to provide Ghana Immigration Services (GIS) with a highly secure electronic visa and border management solution. This initiative is part of the eGhana project, an ambitious plan with backing from the World Bank to create a modern IT infrastructure that can support the country’s sustainable development plans in the years ahead.

With a population of 24 million, the Republic of Ghana is experiencing rapid expansion of cross-border travel. Recognizing the need to improve the security and efficiency of its existing procedures, the country’s immigration service has turned to Gemalto to deliver the benefits of a country-wide electronic border management system based on biometric authentication.

Gemalto acts as prime contractor and will take responsibility for integrating the advanced visa and border management solution, including change management, transitional training and maintenance services.

The company will deploy border management systems at Ghana’s main ports of arrival and will implement a fully computerized system for visa and permit applications processing and issuing, with the collaboration of Avalon Biometrics. The project also covers the set up of an online portal service for visa application, and the implementation of electronic gates at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport, for rapid, convenient and automated border control of arrivals and departures.

This mission-critical solution will streamline processes, reinforce national security and provide the GIS with enhanced border information and intelligence. Aided by biometric data, the authorities will be able to account accurately for everyone entering and leaving the country. The system will also improve the traveling experience, delivering faster and significantly more convenient border control procedures for visitors.

“To maintain Ghana’s economic development, we need an immigration system that can meet the challenges of rapid growth in international travel,” said Commissioner of Police Dr. Peter A. Wiredu, Director of Ghana Immigration Service. “Gemalto contributed to over 80 successful government programs worldwide and has all the required project management skills, reputation and expertise to deliver the country’s new IT infrastructure”.
           
“This advanced electronic identity management system is fundamental to the whole eGhana project,” said Ari Bouzbib, Senior Vice President for Government Programs at Gemalto. “It will put the country’s border control processes on par with the latest, cutting-edge practices worldwide. In addition to helping to transform Ghana, it can serve as a template for modernization across many other countries in Africa.”

Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of Gemalto.

MTN ICT Center

MTN Ghana Foundation has inaugurated an Information Communication Technology (ICT) Centre and Library for the Aborlove and Nolopi Junior High School in the Volta Region.

The 30-seater capacity ICT Centre would serve as computer training Centre and a reading facility to equip pupils with ICT skills and help improve general academic work.

A statement issued in Accra on Tuesday by Mr Robert Kuzoe, the Executive Secretary, MTN Ghana Foundation, said the Centre would serve a total population of about five thousand people from Aborlove/Nolopi, Anyako, Konu, Seva, Sasieme Afife and its surrounding towns.

It said the project which cost Sixty thousand, three hundred and eighty cedis, was one of MTN's contributions towards improvement ICT education in Ghana.

"ICT had become intricately woven into the very existence and wellbeing of our lives and it was thus necessary for students to be armed with this resource," it said.

The statement said, ICT has become a major learning and development skill and the lack of it is considered a serious development gap.

"The speed with which ICT is developing and its impact on our learning and development cannot be overemphasized due to the changing trends in Technology," it added.

Mr Sylvester Tornyeavah, the Municipal Chief Executive of Keta thanked MTN for the investment in education and asked for more developmental assistance in the area.

Togbi Djisam V, the Dufia of Aborlove and Nolopi, expressed gratitude to the MTN Ghana Foundation for the project.

He appealed to the management of the Foundation to assist the community to build a permanent structure to house its Community Health Planning Services Zone.

It said MTN will continue to invest in ICT projects in the rural areas to help bridge the rural –urban ICT divide.

The MTN Ghana Foundation, has invested over GH¢ 11,000,000.00 in various community development projects in the areas of health and education across the country.

Some of the Projects embarked in the Volta region include: an ICT centre at Adidome, Provision of potable drinking water for Kpeve Tornu community and the refurbishment of the Kpedze Health Centre.

Business Ghana

President John Mahama

President John Mahama just launched a project called Hope City. The President of Ghana intends to create the first information and communications technology (ICT) hub in the region near Accra, the country’s capital. It will be underway within a period of three years. This futuristic urban tech mecca will house Africa’s tallest building at 270 meters high. The launching was held on March 4, 2013 at the Ohene Djan Stadium. On March 5, Grammy winning artist Chris Brown has been invited to perform at Hope City’s launching concert.

A symbol of Ghana’s optimistic future

Hope City has a budget of ten billion dollars and will house as many as 25,000 citizens with its high-end residential area. This technological and economic hub will employ approximately 50, 000 with all the businesses that will call the hub its home. The piece of 100,000 sqm of land that will soon give rise to Ghana’s symbol of hope is located at Dunkonaa, an Accra suburb.

This future vertical ICT hub is composed of six towering skyscrapers linked together at various heights, including the 75-storey building that would become Africa’s tallest skyscraper. It will also contain a hospital and various leisure centers for sports, shopping, and recreation. In many ways, Hope City is Ghana’s answer to The United States’ Silicon Valley.

Towards global competitiveness

The project is a component of the National Development Policy Framework or the Government of Ghana in partnership with Rlg Communications, one of the country’s biggest technology companies. In his speech, President Mahama clarifies that private investors will play a key role in making Hope City a reality. He said that it is about time for private businesses to take over especially in telecommunications and information technology after the government’s successful efforts at investing and leading the country to economic growth.

Representatives of the private sector who are keen on investing in Hope City hopes to eventually have assembly plants that mass produce high quality products everyday. The private sector intends to create products and services that will make Ghana globally competitive.

Historical firsts

Ghana holds many “firsts” under its belt. It is the first area in Africa’s sub-Saharan region that saw Europeans arrive with the intent to trade. At first it was for gold and eventually slave trading commenced. Ghana was the first country to become independent from its European colonizers (the British) in the region in 1957.

Political and economic reforms

After independence it fell to political turmoil in corruption and its rich natural resources fell to poor management and military rule. In 1992 democracy came to Ghana and it is now recognized by other Africa nations in the sub-Saharan region as a bastion of socio-economic and political stability. It is now the second largest producer of cocoa in the world after Cote d’Ivore. It is also the second biggest source of gold mines after South Africa. In 2007 Ghana came to offshore oil reserves and by 2010 it has started producing and is the newest addition to the global oil industry.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health (MoH), Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) and other international organisations indicate that somewhere in Ghana, almost 60 women die each week from causes related to pregnancy and birth, while 2,700 women die each year from pregnancy or childbirth.

Another staggering data from World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and World Bank hinted that the lifetime risk of maternal death in Ghana is one in 68.

Amazingly, Ghana's maternal mortality ratio in 2010 was 350 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. This has decreased from 550 per 100,000 in 2000, and 440 per 100,000 in 2005, according to these international organisations.

Globally, the UNFPA estimates that every day, almost 800 women die in pregnancy or childbirth. Every two minutes, the loss of a mother shatters a family and threatens the well-being of surviving children.

Evidence shows that infants, whose mothers die, are more likely to die before reaching their second birthday, than infants whose mothers survive. And for every woman who dies, 20 or more experience serious complications.

Of the hundreds of thousands of women who die during pregnancy or childbirth each year, 90 per cent live in Africa and Asia.

The majority of women in Ghana and other parts of the world are dying from severe bleeding, infections, eclampsia, obstructed labour, and the consequences of unsafe abortions-all causes for which the UNFPA says have highly effective interventions.

On the other hand, the picture of neo-natal deaths in Ghana is worse than the maternal deaths one, as data churned out by both the local and the international organisations revealed that in 2011, the West African second largest economy recorded 23,000 newborn deaths. This meant that three children died in an hour.

Neo-natal deaths account for 60% of infant deaths in Ghana, while one in every 13 Ghanaian children dies before their fifth birthday.

The Chronicle Ghana

The world’s largest software and programme developer, the Microsoft Corporation, has confirmed its Senior Vice President in charge of Corporate Business, Ali Famamwy, will pay a day’s working visit to Ghana on March 4, 2013.

Mr. Famamwy’s visit will be at the invitation of rlg Communications Limited, the pioneer ICT devices assembler in Africa based in Ghana.While in the country, Mr Famamwy will be the Guest of Honour at the official Sod Cutting Ceremony for the multi-million dollar ICT Park to be known as the Hope City in Accra next month.

He will also pay courtesy call on President John Mahama at the Flagstaff House.

The Hope City Project is an integrated village with facilities for housing, ICT, recreation, business and much more and is expected to create jobs for about 50,000 people, directly and indirectly.

In August last year, Microsoft and rlg signed an agreement which allows rlg phones and computers to run on Microsoft Windows.

The influential business magazine Forbes described the rlg-Microsoft deal as a “partnership of the future.”

The deal also granted rlg Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) status, making it one of the few such organizations in Africa.

“This visit by a very senior official of Microsoft excites us because it reaffirms the growing trust and confidence the international community is reposing in us,” said Roland Agambire, Founder & Chief Executive of rlg Communications Ltd.

Mr Famamwy, who is also the President for Microsoft Middle East & Africa (MEA), has a number of responsibilities spanning business strategy and operations. He is a key member of the international leadership team that is responsible for the company’s global strategy, with a particularly visible role amongst the company’s worldwide emerging markets community.

He is directly responsible for Microsoft’s operations in MEA, one of thirteen areas that comprise Microsoft’s worldwide operations. The area represents one of Microsoft’s fastest growing and most dynamic markets and is certainly its most diverse. Microsoft MEA operates through 32 offices and covers 79 countries across three continents.

Throughout his twenty-year career in the IT industry, Mr Famamwy has held different technical, sales and managerial roles in different parts of the Middle East and in Europe with companies including Dun & Bradstreet Software, NCR Corporation, Yokogawa Marex and finally Microsoft Corporation.

Ali joined Microsoft in October 1997 as the General Manager of Microsoft Egypt. After four successful years in that role, he assumed additional responsibilities in the Eastern Mediterranean area, which encompasses Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Cyprus & Malta.

In May 2002, Ali was named as the Regional Director for Sales, Marketing and Services for a newly consolidated Microsoft Middle East and Africa region. In this role, he led efforts to transform and grow the company’s regional presence with a newly established regional headquarters. In 2004, he was promoted to President of Microsoft Middle East and Africa and in 2011 to Corporate Vice President of the Microsoft Corporation.

He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at Alexandria University, majoring in Computer Science & Automatic Control and has a MBA in Strategic Marketing from the University of Hull in the UK.

He is married and has two sons. He loves the IT industry and tendency to empower people and transform industries. He is passionate about the future of people in emerging markets. He also enjoys music, reading and the occasional round of golf

A GH¢24.000 ICT/Library Centre has been constructed for the benefit of pupils of the local District Assembly Primary and Junior High schools at Manso Akropong in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region.

Christened Nananom ICT Centre in honour of developmental efforts of chiefs in the area, the facility, equipped with 12 computers and assorted educational materials, was funded with resources by the chief of the town, Nana Odai Kwame Nketia III.

The chief has, since his enstoolment five years ago, funded the construction of a Kumasi Ventilated Improved Pit (KVIP) place of convenience, and four mechanised boreholes for the community, besides rehabilitating the palace.

He intends to build a new palace and teachers' bungalow for the community, to promote quality education in the town in the years ahead.

The Chronicle

 ACCRA, Ghana, February 6, 2013/ -- K-NET (http://www.knetgh.com), a leading African telecommunications company offering triple-play voice, data and video services across sub-Saharan Africa, is pleased to announce the successful transition of its satellite-based services to a new high-powered digital communications satellite located above the equator in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 28.2 degrees East and providing coverage across West and Central Africa. 

The Astra 2F satellite, built by Astrium and operated by SES, was launched on the Ariane 5 launch vehicle from Kourou in French Guiana on September 28, 2012, with commercial services commencing in November 2012 after extensive in-orbit testing. The new 2F satellite has a 15-year life and replaces the Astra 2B satellite which was launched in 2000. K-NET's state-of-the-art teleport located at McCarthy Hill in Accra, Ghana is used to deliver multichannel digital TV and ultrafast broadband internet services anywhere and everywhere throughout 16 countries within the African contingent. K-NET's McCarthy Hill teleport connects West Africa to major international internet POPs (Points of Presence) in Europe and the US via multiple high-capacity submarine optical fibre cables.

 The new 2F satellite offers higher power, now enabling digital TV reception by every household in West/Central Africa via a 60cm dish and inexpensive DVB decoder. The K-NET digital TV platform is currently enjoyed by over 1 million households, receiving 20 free-to-air (FTA) digital direct-to-home (DTH) TV channels, including 3 of the 4 most-watched TV channels in Ghana - namely GTV, TV3 and TV Africa, as well as the hugely popular MultiTV suite of TV channels.

 Digital TV and ultrafast broadband are now available to every home and business using a single compact satellite dish. The new high-powered satellite enables K-NET to launch a new range of broadband internet service packages which offer businesses and consumers unrivalled levels of performance and value for money. These services are available anywhere and everywhere throughout 16 West and Central African countries, from the most densely-populated urban areas to the most sparsely-populated rural locations.

 A complete range of service packages is available, designed to meet the wide range of needs and budgets from small businesses and consumers to large enterprises and heavy downloaders.

 The new entry-level CONNECT packages are designed to offer very reliable and very high performance business-grade Internet services at retail pricing starting from just $30 per month with download speeds of 1Mbps.

  The top-of-the-range PREMIUM packages are designed to meet the connectivity needs of the most demanding Internet users, with download speeds of 8Mbps and peak-time download volumes of up to 100GB per month.

 All the packages offer unlimited download volumes during off-peak hours. No matter which service package is selected, K-NET delivers the most reliable Internet service available on the African continent, with a service availability of 99.7%. K-NET provides local sales and after-sales support across the whole territory to ensure the highest levels of customer support.

 Commenting on the successful transition, K-NET CEO, Michael Darcy, said "K-NET is delighted to have successfully completed this strategic transition of our digital TV and broadband services from the Astra 2B to 2F satellites. The new 2F platform, with its 15-year design life and increased capacity and power, ensures that K-NET's customers are guaranteed the highest levels of performance and the very best value for money for many years to come".

 K-NET operates a comprehensive structured Partner program which offers qualified Partners with best-in-class levels of technical and sales training and support, together with a 50/50 revenue share. Partners can quickly build substantial recurring monthly revenue streams by growing their subscriber base within their region. To find out more about becoming a qualified partner, contact K-NET at partnerprogram@knetgh.com. 

 The new TV and broadband internet services from K-NET are available anywhere in Nigeria, DRC, Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Benin, Rwanda, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Togo, Central African Republic, Congo, Liberia, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea.

Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of K-NET

ICT Centre Ghana Schools at Srafa and Imuna in the newly created Ekumfi District in the Central Region now have access to an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre. The 20-seater facility, which was constructed by MTN Ghana Foundation, is at the Srafa Islamic School. The foundation has also constructed a six-unit classroom block with office and store for the school. The Executive Secretary of the MTN Ghana Foundation, Mr Robert Kuzoe, said MTN would continue to support the development of education in the country. He urged the parents to support their children to take advantage of the facility to help create a brighter future for the children. He said the foundation had also constructed some infrastructure, including a three-unit and six-unit classroom blocks across all the 10 regions, 18 centres of learning for various schools, dormitories, an ICT laboratory and a bus for the Akropong School for the Blind. He called for strict maintenance of the facility. The headmistress of the school, Madam Eva Assibi Awuni, said the desire of the school administration to ensure that the pupils got access to ICT drove them to apply to the MTN Ghana Foundation. She thanked the foundation for the support and appealed for printers, scanners and photocopiers to ensure effective use of the facility. Ms Vivian Etrue of Metropolitan Education urged the school authorities to block all sites that were unholy to education and to show films good for educational purposes. She also asked the school to open the place to nearby schools. The Regional Planning and Budget Officer, Mr John Hayford, said the facilities must encourage an increase in the enrolment levels in the school.

Ghana Government Official Site