Microsoft holds NGOs Connection Day in Accra

The Microsoft has held a Non-Governmental Organisation Connection Day in Accra.

The event, which was aimed at encouraging participants to be strategic in choosing their social media, also served as a platform to demonstrate how the Microsoft Outlook could be used to chat, search, and carry out multipurpose activities

The event brought together about 50 participants from NGOs such as K-iNET, PLAN Ghana, Christian Relief Services, DFID and TECH AIDE.

Speaking on the topic: “How Microsoft support NGOs”, Mr Ngo Nwosu explained the various ways Microsoft gives aids to non-profits groups through providing support, advice and capacity building.

He said such services were not given to governmental organizations but rather to registered NGOs and other individuals.

Mr Nwosu advised participating NGOs to network saying “the more we work together, the more we would achieve our aims”.

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Ghana urged to invest in space science and technology

A Ghanaian Engineer, Mr. Manfred Quarshie, has urged the country to demonstrate strong commitment towards the exploitation of space technology.

This, he said, would aid the development of innovative and cutting-edge research in the areas of meteorology, environmental management, territorial monitoring, national security surveillance, agriculture and medicine.

Mr. Quarshie, who heads the Intelligent Space Systems Laboratory (ISSL) of the All Nations University College (ANUC), said space technology needed to be applied for the solution of local problems.

He was speaking at a seminar organized on the ANUC’s Ground Station and Earth Observation satellite projects in Kumasi by the Africa Media Consult (AMC), a research-based organization.

These projects are being undertaken by the ISSL under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology for educational and research purposes.

The Ground Station would serve as a centre for receiving data from space, whilst the Earth Observation satellite would monitor the environment.

Mr. Quarshie said the ISSL’s recently launched programme - “CanSat” is aimed at providing engineering students with the opportunity to acquire basic knowledge in space engineering and expose them to engineering challenges in the building of a satellite.

He appealed to corporate bodies to be supportive of the projects because of the tremendous benefits to the nation as well as science and technology education.

Nana Michael Ampong, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the AMC, called for massive investment in science education to address development challenges.

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GTUC to set up ICT incubation centres

The Ghana Technology University College (GTUC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Jospong Group of Companies to establish Information and Communication Technology (ICT) incubation centres across the country.

Graduates from such centres would have access to critical information, office space and secretarial support, education, contacts, capital and resources crucial to the growth of businesses.

At the signing ceremony on Monday, Dr Osei Darkwa, President of GTUC said the collaboration was unique because this was the first time a university has teamed up with a private company to put up such centres.

He said incubates would be in ICT, mobile applications, nanotechnology, new material technologies, biotechnology and environmental technologies, among others.

The President noted that the collaboration would provide a platform for the incubation of ideas and financial resources to graduates from such centres.

This, he observed, would facilitate self development of technology solutions that would address challenges confronting the country.

Dr Darkwa added that the centre would help unleash the innovation and creativity in students, often embedded in their thesis, that are kept on shelves and left to collect dust.

He wondered why after 56 years of independence, Ghana still struggles to find solutions to various fundamental challenges; access to clean drinking water, power availability, poverty, illiteracy and access to jobs.

He observed that some of the solutions to the nation’s problems were hidden in students’ thesis, yet a sizeable number of these students sit at home writing applications for nonexistent jobs while others join the Association of Graduate Unemployment.

Mr Emmanuel Anane Boate, Chief Operating Officer of Jospon Group of companies signed on behalf of the company.

Speaking on behalf of the Executive Chairman of the company, Mr Boate said the drastic transformation of Ghana’s economy required professionals with market-driven skills and practical hands-on experience, adding that, there was the need for the integration of job and learning.

Mr Boate said it was on that platform the company was partnering with the university to provide the needed career training setup lines and work with the school, students and graduates to develop their research works into viable economic projects.

He said the company would provide the corporate working environment tied up to learning to help prepare graduates to meet industry requirements.

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Government To Transform IT Infrastructure – Ms Hammah

Ms Victoria Hammah, Deputy Minister of Communication, said the Ministry is facilitating the vision of Government to develop policies, regulations and programmes to transform Ghana.

She said the transformation would make the country self sufficient, cost-effective and accessible to Information Technology (IT) infrastructure to propel the appropriate use of technological applications and innovations to enhance socio-economic development.

Ms Hammah was speaking at the Information System Audit and Control Association (ISACA) IT Audit Information Security and Risk Insight Africa 2013 Summit in Accra.

She said Government is committed to use modern technologies that would contribute massively to the country’s economic development and support stakeholders to develop and use the globally accepted industry-practices for information systems.

Ms Hammah said Government is having short, medium and long term plans to streamline the regulatory and enforcement regime for IT Governance, ICT system security and management.

She said Government has also set the minimum guidelines for the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and other Agencies, to prepare adequately to meet exigencies of IT usage.

She said to attain these goals, the National Information Technology Agency under the Ministry of Communication has set up a Computer Emergency Response Team, to help deal with emergencies and cyber attacks.

Ms Hammah said ICT is acknowledged globally as the agents of change, reform and innovation and it is fundamentally important that Ghana continue to highlight its role in the business development processes.

She said Information Security and Risk Insight is the most current topic in the world of business because of the impact IT has on the day-to-day running of an organisation

Ms Hammah said, to promote an enabling legal environment in support of the IT industry, the Ministry is facilitating IT-enabled business investments to sustain growth and transform critical areas of national organisations.

“Government recognise the critical dependence of many business processes on IT, and the need to keep up with the ever changing trends and also to comply with the benefits of managing risk effectively,” she said.

She noted that even though a lot of progress has been made in the ICT regulatory regime in Ghana, there are gaps such as cyber security and cyber crimes and plans are advance by the Ministry to address the issue.

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Asantehene urges aggressive promotion of ICT

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, has called for the inclusion of Information Communication Technology (ICT) into the training programmes of the vocational and technical institutions.

He noted that ICT skills would be an advantage to the trainees given the fact that contemporary vocational and technical education had become more knowledge-based.

They would become better equipped to favourably compete on the job market, he said in a speech read for him at the inauguration of a computer laboratory built at the Ramseyer Vocational Technical Institute (RVTI) at Kyirapatre in Kumasi.

The project was implemented through the institute’s own internally-generated-fund and support from the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) and philanthropists.

The Asantehene underlined the need for the government to allocate more funds to strengthen vocational/technical education to help tackle the growing youth unemployment.

He said the secret to socio-economic and technological advancement of countries like Germany had been the huge investment in technical and polytechnic education and Ghana could learn from that.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II praised the RVTI for the good job it was doing to provide the youth with employable skills.

The Reverend Samuel Ayeh-Hanson, Principal of the Institute, said some new courses including building draughtsmanship, auto-mechanics, decoration and construction would be introduced, this academic year.

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Ghana To Host Major ITU Conference

The Africa Regional Preparatory Meeting for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-14) has been slated for October 2 to 4, 2013.

The WTDC is held every four years by the ITU to identify priorities for the development of telecommunications and Information Communication Technologies (ICTs).

It also takes into account contributions made by Member States and Sector Members, and comes out with an Action Plan, setting the future of activities of the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) over the next four-year period.

At a media briefing in Accra, Minister for Communications, Dr Edward Omane Boamah said Ghana was confirmed at the 2013 Session of the ITU Council to host the Regional Development Forum (RDF) for Africa on October 1, 2013.

The conference in Accra he explained would prepare the African delegations to build consensus and adopt common positions on the agenda items that will benefit Africa ahead of the ITU’s 6th World Telecommunication Development Conference from March 31 to April 11, 2014.

The event will be held at the Accra International Conference Centre and an exhibition of technology to expose the sophistication of the ICT landscape will be mounted to demonstrate the sector’s accomplishments and benefits of reforms commenced in 1994 when Ghana possessed less than 68,000 Direct Exchange Lines (DELs).

In accordance with the conventions and procedures of the ITU, pre-registration is being carried out exclusively online through Designated Focal Points (DFP) to enable participation in the RPM and RDF.

Dr Omane Boamah explained that the request for participation in Ghana must therefore, be submitted to the Ministry of Communications for registration as early as possible.

“We look forward to provide the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality to the arriving delegations from ITU, Africa and the World and we expect that the consensus on the issues to be reached in Accra will receive overwhelming endorsement when presented to the World Telecommunication Development Conference in 2014,” he said.

He said to facilitate consensus building; the ITU is organizing, ahead of the meeting, the Regional Development Forum (RDF) as a platform for open dialogues, cooperation and partnerships among telecommunication/ICT policy makers, regulators, industry, academia, regional and international development agencies and organizations on specific regional ICT issues.

The ITU is the global and specialized agency of the United Nations with a membership of 191 States, with responsibility for the regulation, standardization, co-ordination and development of international telecommunications.

Its antecedents can be traced to 1865 when the first International Telegraph Convention was signed, giving birth to the International Telegraph Union, and subsequently to the signing in 1906 of the first International Radiotelegraph Convention.

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KNUST Introduces Cassava Harvesters For Farmers

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has introduced new technology to be used in harvesting cassava.

Five of the new Cassava harvesters have been presented by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, C.S.I.R. to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Speaking at a short ceremony in Accra, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Clement Kofi Humado, said the equipment was in line with the ministry’s policy to promote cassava production, processing and marketing.

“For some time now cassava cultivation has predominantly been practised on a subsistence scale with the application of rudimentary technology, resulting in low productivity", the Minister said.

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Google Eyes Bigger Slice Of Online Photo-sharing

Internet giant Google said it would increase its focus on photograph sharing by offering tools to help both professionals as well as amateurs to share their images.

Currently, Facebook, Pintrest and Flickr lead the online photograph sharing market, of which Google aims to corner a larger pie. "Recognizing evolving needs of photographers, Google Plus is focused on not only providing services to help people share special moments, but also useful photo-editing tools," Google India marketing director Sandeep Menon said here today at an event marking World Photography Day.

Google Plus offers a range of features like back up, auto enhance and highlight to help users edit photographs online and share it with friends, he said.

"The world of photography has seen a paradigm shift in the past couple of decades. It has moved away from isolated dark rooms to highly interactive social platforms," renowned photographer Raghu Rai, who was also present at the event said.

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Ghana, Tech-Friendly Hub For Innovation Soon – FORBES MAGAZINE

One of the world’s influential business magazines, Forbes, is predicting an enviable status for Ghana within the next decade in terms of technological advancement should various interventions in the sector proceed unhindered.

The September 2013 edition of the Forbes Africa Magazine based its projection on a number of planned infrastructural developments being promoted by the government, private firms, international consortium and some individuals.

Forbes’ Muyiwa Moyela reports that “a consortium of Ghanaian and foreign firms look set to transform Ghana into a modern, tech-friendly hub for innovation in Africa”.

He cites the $40 million Ghana Cyber City, Appolonia City, King City and HOPE City Projects being promoted by a number of world class institutions including the Renaissance Group of Russia, Xalles Ltd in Washington, USA; Ernst & Young New York and the Dubai-based AGAMS Holdings whose leading subsidiary, Rlg Communications Group is expected to commission a $100 million PC and mobile device manufacturing center, the first of its kind in 2014.

The magazine singled-out AGAMS Group’ CEO, Roland Agambire who is promoting the $10 billion technology park with residential and office accommodation including the tallest buildings on the continent to be sited few miles from the Ghanaian capital, Accra.

A section of the international media including the BBC and CNN have described the HOPE City project as ambitious, given the youthful nature of its promoter, 39 year old Agambire who is also credited with pioneering the innovation of mobile phones and computer assembling for the first time in that part of Africa.

“This is turning out to be my biggest and most exciting challenge yet. I am extremely passionate about transforming Ghana into knowledge –driven economy”, Agambire who is described by the magazine is an “incurable optimist” is quoted as saying.

He expressed optimism about the ability to raise funding from both local and international markets, promising “any investor who invests in HOPE City will recoup his investments within 5 years, including also making a projected turnover of over 250%”.

HOPE City Project was unveiled in March this year and is expected to be completed in three years.

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NCA urged to monitor telcos

Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Minister of Communications, has called on the National Communications Authority (NCA) to intensify its quality service tests on all telecommunication companies in the country.

This, he said, would serve as a useful guide to subscribers when deciding which mobile telephone operator to engage.

The directive was given during the opening of the 30th Quality of Service Development Group meeting of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Accra.

The five- day meeting which is being organised in the West African sub-region for the first time brings together experts in the telecommunication sector from all over Africa, to deliberate on how to improve on the quality of service on the continent.

He praised Airtel and Vodafone for putting in place the needed measures to improve on their quality of service to customers.

“Airtel which was in 2011 among the worst offenders in quality delivery has expanded to improve the network and is currently among the top two.

“Vodafone has also improved and for 15 months between 2012 and 2013 went on without failing a single parameter in all regions of Ghana,” he said.

Dr Omane Boamah said the NCA would soon commission its latest state of the art monitoring equipment to evaluate mobile telephony as well as internet services over 3G networks.

He cited the inability of the telecommunications sector to provide satisfactory services to meet the needs of the consuming public as one of the major challenges facing the sector.

“This problem is so pervasive and endemic in Africa that the entire focus of the regulatory authorities are mainly devoted to consumer protection.”

He expressed regret that the membership, participation and contributions from telecom operators in Africa, to influence ITU standards, have remained passive.

He said the NCA in its mandate to ensure consumer protection as well as the enforcement of compliance to license obligations, had been compelled to invoke penalties on the service providers as well as insist on compensation measures in response to public outcry to deteriorating quality of service and quality of experience.

Issues to be discussed at the meeting include the impact of 3G, 4G, and smart phones on mobile services; impact of fraud, security and revenue assurance on quality of service, and business performance.

Others include: effects of social media services on quality of service; how subscriber registration, counterfeit phones affect quality of service; and how to monitor quality of service in fixed telephony, data networks, mobile networks and on the internet.

Mr Kweku Sakyi-Addo, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, pledged the readiness of telecommunication operators to put in place the needed measures to ensure that telecom subscribers enjoy the best of services in the country.

He said even though internet penetration in Ghana is only 30 per cent, it is one of the highest in Africa.

Mr Sakyi-Addo said efforts are being made by telecom organisations to ensure that more Ghanaians have access to the internet.

He said for the first time this year, the number of smart phone sales had outstripped that of feature phones, adding that handset manufacturers had began shipping below 50- dollar genuine smart phones unto the Ghanaian market.

This, he said, would require a huge bandwidth to be able to accommodate the growing number of phone and internet users in the country.

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African Leaders Urged To Make ICT Human-Centred

African leaders have been advised to place people at the centre of learning Information Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance sustainable development and improve quality of lives on the continent.

Mr Paul Victor Obeng, Chairman Of National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), gave the advice at the opening of a Regional Development Forum and Regional Preparatory meeting in Accra on Tuesday.

He said development without people at the centre is an aberration.

The conference, which is on the theme: “ICT for development and empowerment of Africa,” is an opportunity for stakeholders to share knowledge and experience on ways of enhancing Broadband sustainability, Broadband Applications for Development Empowerment and create a safer cyberspace.

Mr Obeng said given that ICT has become a dynamic tool for stimulating economic growth, African governments must champion development of infrastructure and make its use friendly.

He said governments could translate textbooks into ICT compatible for use at all levels of the educational ladder, and introduce ICT at early stages for children.

Mr Obeng called on leaders to raise sufficient resources to put up modern ICT infrastructure for citizens to realize their potentials and improve sustainable livelihood.

However, he said, as much as there is the need to expand broadband services, the consequences of cyber security must not be taken for granted.

Mr Braimah Sanou, Director, Telecommunications Development Bureau, International Telecommunications Union (ITU) said countries must develop local content to suit the aspirations of respective environments.

He said this would ensure proper applications of ICT in financial institutions, education, healthcare delivery, transportation, agriculture and other sectors of the economy.

Mr Sanou noted that ICT must be defined in a way to stimulate social and economic improvement of the people and to make equal opportunity and access a guiding principle.

“Let’s come together and put a human face to ICT in our vision,” he said.

Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Minister of Communications, said the industrial and agricultural revolutions have bypassed Africa, but this should not be the case for ICT, despite the fact that in the wake of globalisation, Africans face development handicaps.

He said ICT play a vital role in disaster prevention and management while spurring development in all aspects of human endeavours.

Dr Boamah said the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals would be a mirage if Africans do not appropriately harness and utilise ICT.

The conference is a demonstration of the African's commitment to use ICT to accelerate development and also to explore and improve the living conditions of people on the continent, he said

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