GIFEC must be commended for its prudence and strong liquidity position – PAC

Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), an Implementing Agency of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation responsible for programmes to close the Digital Divide, has been commended for its strong operational and financial position by a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament – Hon. Isaac Yaw Opoku – Member of Parliament for Offinso South Constituency, who led the review of GIFEC's statement of operations and financial position by the PAC, on 3rd February 2023.

He observed that GIFEC posted an impressive 7.2% increase in the surplus of income over expenditure, compared to the previous year, significantly improving its liquidity, as a result.

He concluded that GIFEC's “financial position is very good. Non-current assets increased by 14.5%, and current assets by 20.1%. Their liquidity position is very strong and (has) even improved over the previous year. In fact, they did well and need to be commended.”

In the progress of the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project (GRT&DIP), GIFEC’s flagship project, Mr. Prince Ofosu Sefah, Administrator (CEO) of GIFEC commented on its unprecedented nature, began in late 2020.

He mentioned that 473 out of the 1,008 (50% of the planned 2,016 Rural Mobile Sites being deployed by the Project) have completed and are active and delivering voice and data services to citizens.

He assured the Committee that plans are far advanced and efforts are being expedited to resolve all technical difficulties being encountered, to ensure that the remaining Sites are all built and activated this year.

He concluded that equipment for the construction of the remaining 50% of the 2,016 Sites is actually in the country, awaiting funding for deployment, which is expected in the near future.

The GRT&DIP forms part of GIFEC’s flagship Rural Telephony Programme, which is funded by the Government of Ghana (GoG), through a strategic agreement with Huawei and China National Technical Import & Export Corporation (CNTIC), funded by the China EXIM Bank to establish 2,016 Rural Telephony Sites in as many communities across the country, envisioned to provide mobile network coverage to about 3.4 million more citizens.

GIFEC supervises the implementation of this Project, working with Technical Partners, on behalf of the Government of Ghana, represented by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD). This unprecedented Project has been spearheaded by the Honourable Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, who also chairs the Board of Trustees of GIFEC, position she has held since 2017.