Accra, June 24, GNA – Mr Prince Sefah, the Administrator of Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), has completed a working visit to inspect newly built Community ICT Centre (CIC) projects in the Ashanti Region.
The Administrator with a support team were in the region to deepen collaboration with stakeholders, including Municipal/District Assemblies, Traditional Authorities and School Authorities.
A statement issued in Accra by the Fund said the visit took Mr. Sefah and the team to Ejura, Kokofu, Gyadam and Abankro.
In Ejura-Sekyedumase District, the team inspected the newly completed CIC at Aheneboano, where Mr. Sefah engaged the District Coordinating Director, select staff of the Assembly, some community leaders and the Assistant Headmaster of the Ejura Anglican School, whose campus the CIC is located.
The Administrator inspected the project to check its readiness for the deployment of computer equipment, and its operationalisation, for the benefit of the community.
He expressed his gratitude to the Assembly and the community for their cooperation and support throughout the construction phase, and further requested for their support for the efficient management of the facility.
He said that a key component of GIFEC’s mandate was to build the capacity of citizens to take up opportunities in the 4th Industrial Age, which was driven by Digitalisation.
According to him, GIFEC was expanding its Cyberlabs Programme to more communities, to increase access to ICT equipment and services, especially in underserved and unserved communities.
Mr. Emmanuel Armah, the District Coordinating Director, who represented the District Chief Executive, said that the Assembly was grateful to be included in GIFEC’s interventions, and pledged support for the management and maintenance of the centre.
He requested additional support from GIFEC for schools and other communities within the district, considering the generous size and population of the district.
In Kokofu, in the Bekwai District of the region, Mr. Sefah and team paid a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of the Kokofu Traditional Area, Barima Offe Akwasi Okogyeasuo II and his Sub-Chiefs.
He said the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project (GRT&DIP), has built 1,006 to-date, out of a planned 2,016 sites, since late 2020, and was expected to be completed by December 2023.
He mentioned that previously, until the GRT&DIP, GIFEC was building about 10 such sites per year, in the era of the previous NDC government.
In the Ashanti Region, he said specifically, 119 GRT&DIP sites have been built, out of which 70 were already activated and delivering Voice and Data services to the citizens of Asanteman.
He said that his team was working in collaboration with relevant stakeholders in the Asanteman to ensure that the region gets its due share of the remaining sites activated.
Mr Sefah said GIFEC’s Cyberlabs Programme would establish 200 ICT labs across the country this year, to increase access to ICT.
The Administrator informed the Omanhene and his people that 14,000 of the citizens would receive various ICT training this year, under GIFEC’s ICT Capacity Building Programme.
Barima Offe Akwasi Okogyeasuo II, expressed his excitement about GIFEC’s laudable projects, especially the Cyberlabs Projects.
He requested an expansion of the Programme to cover more people and communities in Kokofu.
As part of his inspection of the Gyadam CIC in the Asante Akim South District, Mr. Sefah also called on the traditional rulers of the area, including the Queen Mother of Gyadam Paramountcy, Nana Kwatemaa Morongo II.
Mr. Sefah was accompanied by the Development and Planning Officer and the Director of Education of the Asante Akim South District.
At Abankro in the Ejisu Municipality, he visited the newly constructed centre and interacted with some leaders of the community as well.