GIFEC partners Library Authority, Kofi Annan ICT Centre on digitalisation

The Management of Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications has signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between the Ghana Library Authority (GhLA) and the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence (AITI- KACE) in ICT to champion government’s digitalization agenda.

The partnership is to establish guidelines and firm arrangements between both parties and further outline specific roles and responsibilities.

Mr Kofi Asante, the Administrator of GIFEC, speaking at the signing ceremony, said the Fund’s new five-year strategic direction for 2019-2022 required that they forge effective and efficient collaborations.

He said this was to ensure continuous research to unearth innovations in the ICT landscape as well as facilitate widespread awareness and ICT literacy among unserved and underserved communities.

He said the GIFEC had established a long partnership with the GhLA and this entailed the provision of ICT equipment and internet connectivity to regional, district and mobile libraries across the country.

Mr Asante said as part of the collaboration, ICT Centres would be set up within Library premises, to promote affordable ICTs for socio-economic development of Ghana and avoid duplication of resources to achieve similar end goals.

The Administrator said in 2012, under the Library connectivity project, GIFEC provided desktop computers to the Authority’s mobile van to help communities access computers for experiential learning.

He said following through on its promise of ushering in a new era of growth, redesign of library services and delivery optimisation to signify the rebirth after years of stagnation, the Mobile Vans were now a State-of-the-art mechanism for library service delivery and were ready to get back to full operations.

“GIFEC supplied the Authority with 100 laptop computers to support the project in this new era,” he added.

He said GIFEC was in collaboration with AITI- KACE to provide outcomes of GIFEC sponsored research and innovations of products and services to assist the Fund in executing its mandate and provide affordable ICTs for socio-economic development of Ghana.

Mr Asante said as a preliminary activity, the parties would conduct a strategic planning exercise to review the ongoing operations of AITI- KACE in both Bolgatanga and Sunyani.

He said the collaboration between GIFEC/GhLA and AITI- KACE would enable Ghana to keep pace with digital eruptions that continuous to rock today’s technological era.

“It will facilitate the achievement of GIFEC’s mandate of improving ICT infrastructure in deprived communities and delivering ICT literacy to all persons especially persons with disabilities and the marginalized in this information age,” he said.

Mr Hayford Siaw, the Acting Executive Director, GhLA, said the Authority had declared 2019 as a year of Reading and as the declaration, one of the objectives was to increase access to the digital technology for Ghanaians and to create a conducive environment for people, who uses the Library services.

He said the collaboration would enable the Authority to reach a lot more Library users with their services, adding that they have 10 Mobile Vans fully equipped with laptops for the rural areas.

He called on the District Chief Executives to collaborate with the Authority to enable them reach out to communities in their jurisdiction.

Mr Stephen Baffour, the Director of Finance and Administration of AITI- KACE commended the Management of GIFEC for the collaboration to continue to service Ghanaians.