Ghana to run .gh domain namespace

Accra, Feb. 3, GNA – The National Information Technology Agency (NITA), the Information Technology Implementing Agency of the Ministry of Communications has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ghana Dot Com, a successor company of Network Computer Systems Limited.

Ghana Dot Com (GDC), the current manager of the .gh domain namespace, is to begin the process of transfer of the management of the namespace to Government. This is in line with the Electronic Transaction Act 2008 (ACT 772) which empowers the Minister of Communications to hold the name space and manage it in trust for the people of Ghana.

NITA has been empowered to ensure the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of the Electronic Transactions Act (ETA), and as part of its mandate will be managing the .gh namespace on behalf of the Minister of Communications, Ghana.

The signing of the MOU puts NITA in a position to begin plans to implement the re-development programme of the .gh registry. NITA’s plan is to implement a world class domain registry solution that will make domain registration available online and accessible to all citizens and businesses in Ghana. Since June 2011, NITA has been going through a process to procure world-class registry software and will soon conclude the process. As part of the preparation to manage the domain space, NITA will begin a local Internet community industry stakeholder forum prescribed by ETA to discuss the general management and policy of the domain namespace in February 2012. NITA has also beefed up its team with domain name business expertise to help it manage the domain namespace efficiently.

The current manager of the namespace, GDC, has agreed by the MOU to support NITA by ensuring a smooth transfer of zone data and will not contest re-delegation of the domain space by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) which is the global body that manages the domain name systems, including country code top level domains (ccTLD). Ghana Dot Com has managed the .gh domain namespace since 1995 and has confirmed in the MOU its willingness to support NITA technically and administratively in the running of the registry after the re-delegation. NITA was established by Act 771 and passed by the Parliament of Ghana in December, 2008 and is the Government Agency responsible for the implementation of e-Government.

NITA is the ICT implementation arm of the Ministry of Communications and is tasked with the objectives of regulating the provision of information communications technology, ensuring the provision of quality information communications technology, promoting standards of efficiency in ICT and ensuring high quality of ICT services.

Essentially, NITA’s responsibilities include executing the third component of the e-Ghana project, ensuring the integration of ICT into government business processes, to achieve greater efficiency and effective service delivery to citizens, ensuring significant cost reduction in the provision and maintenance of ICT infrastructure and services by leveraging economies of scale (Shared ICT Services).

It would also ensure accessibility and convenience of Government services by leveraging ICTs, ensuring the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of the Electronic Transactions Act 2008 and implementing and adoption of Digital Signature technology by Government.