Communications and Digitalisation Minister starts agency visits

The Hon. Minister for Communications and Digitalization, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, as part of the efforts to reorient staff of the ministry in line with the expanded mandate, and to improve the oversight role, has from the 14th of April, 2020 began official visits to the various agencies under the Ministry.

The Minister, during the visit, will interact with management and staff to be able to identify challenges and potential challenges early enough to find solutions.

The Hon. Minister’s first port of call was there Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC).The engagement centered also on their challenges and recommendations in moving forward especially with the rural telephony project.

The staff expressed appreciation for the Minister's support for their operations and activities. They were full of praise for the set-up of the smart workplace which according to them, facilitated their working remotely during the covid-19 with flexible working schedules.

At the Community Information Centres (CICs), the Minister directed the agency to submit a report on all its activities so far, indicating their location and patronage as well as the current state.

The Minister advised the agency to take monitoring and evaluation very serious in order to help put in place appropriate measures where necessary.

In response to an enquiry on the presence of Twitter in Ghana, the Minister could not hide her excitement about Twitter's announcement to have its headquarters here in the country.

She was particularly happy about the number of jobs Twitter's presence would create for the youth. Adding, that the move will encourage other businesses invest in the country.

"Our focus on creating the digital economy using technology has caught the eyes of others across the world with our largely well-educated youthful population, many bright spots can be located in Ghana", adding, that the multiplier effect is what is exciting.

The Minister encouraged Ghanaians to stay focused and train the next generation of thinkers to energize the economy.

The Minister's next stop was at the National Information Technology Agency (NITA).

She pledged her commitment to work with the agency to ensure that they assume their proper place in the set-up of the country.

She advised management and staff of NITA to re-orient their mindset and open themselves to new opportunities.