Government to use mobile telephony to collate birth and death data

Biriwa, July 15, GNA- Mr. Haruna Iddrissu, Minister of Communications, on Friday announced that government would from next year attempt to use mobile telephony to collate death and birth statistics across the country.

He said in Ghana there was no reliable and accurate information on births and deaths but since the number mobile phone users has increased, it would be possible to access how many people have given birth and how many have been lost in the course of planning by using one of the network.

According to the Minister, the government would also embark on an emergency response programme to release at least 4000 mobile phones to workers whose activities relate directly to emergency situations.

He said this would therefore help the policeman to maintain law and order, the Fire Service person to put off fire and NADMO to attend to disasters and the hospitals and clinics to receive calls on emergency cases.

Mr Iddrissu disclosed this during the commissioning of ICT laboratory centre for the Biriwa National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) in the Central Region.

The centre which is equipped with newly acquired computers with internet connectivity was funded by the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC) under the Ministry of Communication.

He said students must have the necessary skills in Information Communication and Technology (ICT) to equip them for the job market.

He stressed that without the requisite ICT training, students are rendered as unready and uncompetitive for the competitive world market.

“ICT must be an integral part of any training in educational institutions because it holds the key to the future”, he said.

He noted that government was planning to create a knowledge and information based society where everybody would have access and share information to contribute to the sustainable development of the country.

Mr Enoch Tei- Mensah, Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, said one of the keys in modern education was ICT skill training which was needed to help students prepare for the job market.

He said students must take advantage of the information technology world and must use their skills and apply it diligently in the job market.

Mr Stephen Bismark Amponsah, Director of NVTI, thanked the administration of GIFEC for the assistance and assured that the centre would be used for appropriately.

Mr Kofi Attor, Administrator of GIFEC, explained that, GIFEC was set up to extend ICT from the big town to the rural to enable them access information across the country.

He noted that ICT was the way forward and every student must be part of the revolutionary world adding, they should use the computers for communication and research work.