Ghana Commends CTO Partnership

Dr Benjamin Aggrey Ntim, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Communications, has commended a two-week ICT training programme organised by the CTO and its partners in Ghana. The programme included two workshops on ‘Telecommunications Business Simulation’ and ‘E-Government Strategy and Implementation’.

As he personally handed completion certificates to some 45 participants who took part in the two events, he said that the programme had been timely and very successful for the industry. The workshops were delivered on 8 - 17 May 2007 in Accra, in partnership with Alliances Consulting Group, a Canada-based telecoms management consulting firm and partner of CTO’s Programme for Development and Training.

According to Dr Ntim, the workshops were important and timely in light of developments on two fronts: the privatisation of Ghana Telecom and the country’s push towards E-government. Both events took place at the new Ghana Telecommunications University, Ghana Telecom’s new centre of excellence in the use of ICT in telecommunications.

Telecommunications Business Simulation

The first course, “Telecommunications Business Simulation”, was aimed at ways to generate increased revenue through improved customer relationships and new products and services. The course was led by Zain Khan, Communications Management Consultant and President of the Canadian consulting firm. The course is a simulation exercise designed for telcos offering a range of strategic and operational solutions for increasing customer revenue and increase market share.

E-Government Strategy and Implementation

“E-Government Strategy and Implementation” was aimed at equipping the participants with:

· a broad understanding of E-Government best practices, successes and challenges

· the capacity to prepare an E-Governance strategy with relevance to Ghana’s ‘ICT for Accelerated Development’ policy

· techniques to analyse specific E-governance issues including how to develop and apply effective strategic measures

· the specific skills necessary to measure and manage resistance and other obstacles to the introduction of E-governance services.

Also present at the closing ceremony was Issah Yahaya, Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ghana Ministry of Communications. He reported that participants found the methodology excellent and up-to-date with ideas on latest technologies. They also acknowledged the content as timely and very relevant to the present circumstances in Ghana.

Mr Yahaya committed to the creation of a new database to track the participants at these courses, to ensure that the country can consult with and draw on this pool of talent, to ensure that Ghana continues to be on the forefront of the use and implementation of ICT’s.

Contacts:

Juliet Manuel, Programme Officer

Telephone: +44 870 7777 697

Fax : +44 870 0864 5626

E-mail: j.manuel@cto.int