As part of the visit, the delegation, led by the Deputy CEO – Mr. Abu Bakarr Sappay Foray-Musa, paid a Courtesy Call on the Hon. Ama Pomaa Boateng, the Deputy Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, who highlighted the strong ties between Ghana and Sierra Leone, and called for the need to forge further collaborations to strengthen this existing relationship.

She reiterated the significance of GIFEC in the digitalisation agenda of the Government and expressed excitement about the UADF’s visit thereof, since GIFEC has several innovative initiatives to benchmark on, for the success of the UADF.

The Administrator of GIFEC, Mr. Prince Ofosu Sefah, intimated GIFEC’s commitment to ensuring the UADF acquires all the necessary information and knowledge to make their visit a success. It was his hope, that at the end of the visit, the team would have received requisite knowledge to enhance the implementation of Universal Access and Service in Sierra Leone, benchmarking not only the successes but also learning from GIFEC’s challenges.

He mentioned that it is important for the team to identify the gaps and work better at closing them in order to avoid pitfalls. He finally added that the need to strengthen collaborations between the two agencies for continuous learning and improvement.

Mr. Foray-Musa articulated his team’s gratitude to the Deputy Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, the Ministry and Management of GIFEC for hosting them and sharing significant knowledge which will be incorporated in their project implementation.

He added that although UADF had previously visited GIFEC for similar purposes, the mandate and resources of UADF had been expanded, following the establishment of the new National

Communications Authority Act (2022), hence the need to embark on this visit in order to strengthen their processes and structures.

He acknowledged that the team had received a lot to chew on and promised to continue the engagement for a better UADF.

There were presentations from all three Directorates of GIFEC, with special emphasis on the Project implementation, Financial Resources, and sustainability of GIFEC Projects, as well as partnership mechanisms.

Mr. Abu Bakarr Sappay Foray-Musa was with Mr. Brima Sannoh – Manager, Administration and Human Resources, Christiana Queen Fofanah – Manager, Research and Innovation and Abu Bakarr Kallon – Project Manager at the UADF

Present at the meeting from GIFEC were Mrs. Eva Andoh Opoku – Deputy Administrator, Alhaji Yahaya Zakaria Osman – Director, Operations, Alhaji Faisal Issahaku Gbanjili – Director, Administration and Human Resources, and other Management staff of GIFEC.

As part of the benchmarking exercise, the delegation embarked on a field trip to some select GIFEC project sites in the Eastern Region, to broaden their experience and knowledge of GIFEC intervention, as well as challenged. Sites visited include Akyem Adukrom MA Basic School, Sanfo Ano Rural Telephony Project Site and the Amanfrom eCIC.

The exercise, led by the Administrator, Mr. Prince Ofosu Sefah, involves Community Engagement activities and the acquisition of a suitable land for the construction of approved Sites, following successful Drive Tests and computer simulations, to confirm Site viability.

As part of the exercise, the Administator, along with a Support Team visited select communities (Onyemso, Adunkwaa and Osubeng) in the Eastern Region on Friday, August 19, 2022.

Mr. Sefah reiterated government’s commitment to ensuring 95% mobile network coverage by December 2023, through the establishment of 2,016 Rural Sites under the GRT&DIP.

He interacted with chiefs and members of the three communities, and assured them of the commitment of GIFEC and the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation to ensuring the prompt construction of these Sites, to facilitate development.

He highlighted the importance of mobile network connectivity in development, as it enhances education, trade and commerce, to mention a few.

He said, that the project, although slightly delayed by the COVID-19 Pandemic, since it commenced in 2020, has chalked some remarkable milestones in its implementation. Sites have been built in 1,084 communities, with 512 integrated to the core network and 417 On Air (activated) and delivering voice and data services to over 120,000 average daily subscribers across various rural communities so far.

The Land Acquisition exercise is being conducted in the Central, Western, Western North, Eastern, Ashanti, Volta, Oti and Northern Regions.

Mr. Sefah was accompanied by the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Kwahu South, Hon. Emmanuel Atta Ofori and staff members of GIFEC and Kwahu South District Assembly.

He said this, when he inspected select Cyberlabs, Community ICT Centres (CICs) and Rural Telephony Sites, and engaged key stakeholders of the Fund in Western Region.  

The Administrator, together with a Technical Support Team, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Amenfi Central – Mr. P.H. Amponteng and Mr. Lord Nana Tandoh – Municipal Chief Executive of Amenfi West Municipality, visited newly-constructed Community ICT Centres (CICs), new Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Cell Sites and an existing Cyberlab at Manso Amenfi and Amuni.  

He indicated that equipment will soon be deployed to the new CICs for their operationalisation, and reiterated the need to establish Municipal/District multi-stakeholder Management Committees to manage and maintain the ICT centres, to continue to benefit the people of the community.  

He also mentioned that some of the CICs will facilitate the training of over 10,000 citizens this year, as part of GIFEC’s ICT Capacity Building and Skills Development Programme.  

He admonished the communities to develop a solid maintenance culture, supported by a similarly improving culture at GIFEC, to ensure the people continue to benefit from these resources for a longer time. 

Mr. Sefah also inspected Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project Sites at Amuni and Nkakaa, both in the Amenfi Central District. The project is being implemented by GIFEC on behalf of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, under the leadership of Hon. Mrs.  Ursula Owusu-Ekuful (MP and Sector Minister), as part of Government’s unprecedented $200 million Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project, which started in 2020 and slated to be completed in 2023, and which is to build 2,016 Rural Network Sites. The project has built about half of the planned 2,016 Sites so far. 

He highlighted the uniqueness of the Nkakaa Site, which uses Aerial Fibre technology, a solution used in communities with difficult topography, and is being deployed in five (5) communities within the Western and Western North Regions, in order to overcome technical constraints that had hitherto made it impossible for these communities to get cell phone Network Access.  

Mr. Sefah also paid a Courtesy Call on the Chief of Amuni, Nana Twumasi Ampaw, who communicated his utmost appreciation to GIFEC for its intervention and encouraged more engagements for enhanced relationship between the community and GIFEC. There, Mr. Sefah responded to reports of unstable electricity in the area with a promise to get back with a possible solar-powered solution. He also promised to explore adding another Site in the area, to improve the quality of the Network. 

Earlier on, on July 1st, in Takoradi, Mr. Sefah engaged Skyy Power 93.5 FM to share more with listeners across the Region on what does, including the organisation’s increased projects and activities because of unprecedented investments of this government in digitalising the country.  

His visit to the Western Region forms part of his tour of GIFEC Project Sites across the country to inspect and engage with key Stakeholders. He had recently visited the Central and Ashanti Regions. 

Madam Akofio-Sowah, who also serves as a Member of the Board of the Ghana Domain Name Registry, in her initial remarks, said that the visit was in line with required Stakeholder Engagements, especially as we get beyond the COVID disruption. According to her, the visit also served as an avenue to pay a courtesy call on the new Administrator of GIFEC.

She mentioned that CSquared currently owns and operates over 1000 kilometres of metro fiber in Kampala and Entebbe in Uganda and more than 2000 in 5 cities in Ghana: Accra, Tema, Kasoa, Kumasi, Takoradi and 180KMs in Monrovia, Liberia. She also touched briefly on the history and ownership structure of CSquared and their core Wholesale Open Access business model.

In response, the Administrator (CEO) of GIFEC – Mr. Prince Sefah acknowledged that CSquared is a well-regarded contributor of 1% of its Net Revenues to GIFEC’s base of funding. Further, he highlighted key projects and programmes being undertaken by GIFEC.

He intimated the enormity of the Ghana Rural Telephony & Digital Inclusion Project, being implemented by GIFEC on behalf of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation and the government, touching 2,016 Communities, and connecting about 3.5 million more Ghanaians with Voice and Data Network Services.

He mentioned briefly, other key expanded initiatives of GIFEC, such as the Capacity Building Programme, especially the Girls in ICT and the Digital Transformation Centres programmes.

Mr. Sefah finally touched on GIFEC’s Cyberlabs Programmes and Community ICT Centres (CICs), including the fact that 30 more have been expanded, bringing the number to 273, at various stages of operationalisation.

Estelle expressed her particular interest in the CICs, from their earliest days, while serving as the CEO of Busy Internet.

Further discussions around how both organizations can mutually benefit from leveraging fiber infrastructure to accelerate access to Voice and Data Services.

Also discussed was on ongoing efforts at GIFEC to strengthen internal structures to meet expanding Mandates.

Both CEOs determined to look for more opportunities for closer collaboration between the two organizations, going forward.

In attendance at the Meeting were the Deputy Administrator of GIFEC – Mrs. Eva Andoh-Poku, the Director of Administration and Human Resources – Alhaji Faisal Issahaku Gbanjili and the Director of Operations – Alhaji Yahaya Zakaria Osman.

This feat is in recognition of Ghana’s Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project (GRT&DIP), which is providing 2,016 telephony sites across the country, in an effort to ensure 99% mobile telephony connectivity, using both grid and solar energy, during the term of government of H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The implementation of this project, spearheaded by the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation – Hon. Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, with GIFEC as the Implementation Agency, and Huawei as the key technology partner, adheres to the Sustainable Development Goals 13 and 17, with the use of solar energy and the adoption of strategic partnership for the achievement of project objectives.

This exceptional award highlights the very best examples of mobile connectivity – by the global Mobile Telephony eco-system – in recognising the players who are supporting and contributing to one or several of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

MWC Barcelona is the world’s most influential event for the connectivity industry. It’s where world-leading companies and trailblazers share the latest thought leadership about the progression and future of connectivity. And it’s the best place for networking opportunities with mobile and tech industry influencers.

Other organisations shortlisted for “Outstanding Mobile Contribution to the UN SDGs” category include:

• Ericsson for Air Quality Monitoring Project in India
• Knowledge Platform for Bridging Digital Divide in Education
• Qualcomm for Qualcomm Wireless Reach and Hapinoy for Hapinoy Mobile Business Hubs
• Safaricom, Close the Gap and Huawei for DigiTruck Project

The GRT&DIP is intended to provide 3G mobile telephony services to underserved and unserved communities, where Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have proven unable to extend their services due to economic constraints.

The GRTDIP therefore enhances the socioeconomic lives of beneficiaries as it connects them with the world, for the purposes of communications, trade, and financial inclusion.

He said this, during interviews on Ghana’s Digitalisation Agenda, at Homebase TV and Kessben FM, adding that 260 out of 510 completed sites are active and providing service to Ghanaians across the country. He reiterated the commitment of the Akufo-Addo Administration to ensuring 99% telephony coverage by December 2024.

Mr. Sefah highlighted key achievements in the Digitalisation space, emphasizing that “Digitalisation extends beyond network provision, it includes capacity building and other ICTs”. To this end therefore, GIFEC is providing various forms of tailored training for beneficiaries from different sectors of the economy. Through GIFEC’s intervention, over 500,000 persons have been trained in order to fully participate in the current digital economy. This includes teachers, students, traders, artisans and women entrepreneurs.

In his interview, he restated his commitment to conduct more follow ups to promote effectiveness and enhancement of GIFEC’s training programs such as, Girls in ICT and Coding for Kids which is a project to give opportunity to kids and the youth to explore the world of technology through the creation of websites, computer games, animation stories, mobile apps and interactive arts.

He finally touched on the need for all sim cards to be registered to eliminate the existence of SIM frauds. As a method to safeguard the registration process he encouraged Ghanaians to embrace the verification stage of the sim registration process as it serves as a second or extra layer of security that is used to make sure that the person linking the SIM card to the Ghana card (National ID) is who they say they are.