GIFEC Shares Universal Access Experience with Agence De Gestion Du Fonds D’access Universel (AGEFAU) – Mali
The Agence De Gestion du Fonds D’access Universel (AGEFAU) – Universal Access Fund of Mali, has paid a working visit to the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) to acquire more knowledge on the processes, strategies for project implementation to improve the sustainability of their own established structures.
As part of the visit, a meeting was held with GIFEC Management, to officially welcome the delegation and provide them with details on GIFEC’s mandate and activities.
The Administrator of GIFEC, Mr. Prince Sefah in his welcome remarks, reiterated his commitment to the Malian Delegation and pledged GIFEC’s support to the team during their visit. He also outlined some of the challenges that GIFEC is facing under the Ghana Rural Telephony & Digital Inclusion Project (GRT&DIP), and measures taken to resolve them.
Mr. Boubacar Bah, Deputy Director of AGEFAU and Delegation Lead, asserted that their organisation was established in 2016 as a Universal Access Fund with the main objective to bridge the digital divide between the underserved and unserved areas. He also mentioned that 2% funding of their Gross Income is accrued from the Telcos and they also get one percent License Revenue from their National Communication Authority. Currently the Agency is embarking on a project to connect about 3,016 communities.
He also expressed appreciation to GIFEC for sharing experiences with them and promised to replicate the positives GIFEC has achieved, to ensure success in their project implementation.
Mr. Michael Agyei Takyi, Principal Manager, Programmes gave a detailed presentation on our flagship programmes. He asserted that under the Ghana Rural Telephony & Digital Inclusion, 2016 Rural sites are being built across Ghana, out of which 1,008 have been built. In relation to our Cyberlabs Programme, from 2017 to date 1,260 cyberlabs had been established. He also highlighted key achievements with our ICT Capacity Building Programme, which has trained about 17,000 citizens in the past two years alone.
Other presentations centred on GIFEC’s sustainability drive and various partnerships in project implementation, as well as details on Administrative and Human Resources activities.
The meeting was attended by Mr. Boubacar Bah, the Deputy Director, Ibrahim Doumbia, Director, Awa Dicko, Head of Administration and Human Resources, Fatoumata Dicko, Project Manager, Oumar Diop, Project Agent, and Ayouba Maiga, Communications Agent all from AGEFAU.
The delegation was received by Mr. Prince Sefah (Administrator/CEO), Mrs. Eva Andoh-Poku (Deputy Administrator), Faisal Issahaku Gbanjili (Ag. Director Administration & HR), Mr. Takyi, Principal Manager of Programmes, Sandra Mills, Head, Corporate Affairs, Abena Nyamesem, Head of Partnership & Sustainability, Mawuli Dake, Head, Administration and Abigail Osei, Head of Human Resources.
The delegation also embarked on a field trip to some select GIFEC project sites in the Eastern Region, to augment their experience and knowledge of GIFEC projects and processes. Sites visited includes Suhum CIC, Odumase Presby Basic School, J.B Danquah Memorial Center (Regional Office), Okoda RTP Kwabire and Agyem Akropong RTP.
