The International Telecoms Union (ITU) has assured newly inaugurated President of Ghana, Mr. Nana Akufo-Addo of the support of the union in deepening Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the country.
Secretary-General, and Nigeria’s Shola Taylor who joined heads of state and distinguished guests from around the world at the inauguration of His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo as President of the Republic of Ghana on Sunday 8th January said in an interview that “I was delighted to attend the inauguration of President Akufo-Addo. It was a truly unifying and inspiring celebration”.
“In my meeting with the president, I took the opportunity to pledge the continuous and enhanced support of the CTO to his presidency and Ghana, especially on ICT capacity development, cybersecurity and broadband infrastructure,” added Mr Taylor.
A human rights lawyer and former justice and foreign minister, President Akufo-Addo won last month’s tightly contested presidential election in the West African country.
Whilst in Ghana Mr. Taylor also held a series of high-level meetings with the CTO’s main partners: the Ministry of Communications, the National Communications Authority, the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications, the National Information Technology Agency and Vodafone Ghana, who chairs the CTO’s Programme for Development & Training. At their meeting Mr Issah Yahaya, Chief Director of the Ministry of Communications, acknowledged the positive contribution of the CTO to ICT develoment in Ghana.
Since becoming a member country of the CTO in 1962, the country has received regular advice and expertise from the organisation in building its information and communication infrastructure and promoting universal access. Support provided in recent years has focused primarily on ICT policy and regulation. The country is considered to have one of the best approaches in managing universal access funds in Africa, supporting not only fixed access, but also wireless, broadband, broadcasting and other services.
“Ghana is making great strides in developing its ICT sector,” concluded Mr Taylor. “I very much look forward to the CTO partnering the new Ghanaian administration on the journey towards a successful e-economy.”
Business Hilights recalls that the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) is the oldest and largest Commonwealth intergovernmental organisation in the field of information and communication technologies. With a diverse membership spanning developed and least developed countries, small island developing states, and more recently also the private sector and civil society, the CTO aims to become a trusted partner for sustainable development for all through ICTs.
