Ghana Must Not Joke With ICT At All

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

An African proverb alerts us that: “A person who travels sees more things than a person who climbs up a tall tree.” Another one says: “What Cat saw and closed its eyes, Dog did not see it before barking at the top of its voice.”

It appears most of us Ghanaians take delight in talking, talking without actually focusing on what we are mandated or supposed to do for the advancement of our beloved country. If one were to do a sort of SWOT analysis of Ghana as a nation, this “Talk-talk No Action” would be one of her critical weaknesses.

On Friday, August 1, 2008, the Daily Graphic wrote a very pathetic editorial headed: “THAT ALL MAY ACCESS WWW.COM” The opening paragraph of that editorial comment even started with the word PATHETIC in capital letters. It reads:

“A PATHETIC picture was painted of the country’s poor Internet use and standing on the African continent, with Ghana placing only ahead of Sierra Leone and Liberia.”

Come to think of it! Ghana, a country that we Ghanaians always claim to be the first in everything and anything in Africa, is sharing a position with Sierra Leone and Liberia in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the African Continent. Did something go wrong somewhere, or have we just not moved from the talking point to the action point yet?

Graphic editorial continued: “This sordid state of affairs should be cause for concern to everybody in the 21^st century when Information and Communication Technology (ICT) rules the world”

The third paragraph opined: “Ghana’s hold on mobile phone patronage, undoubtedly, is high, as every nook and cranny of the country is somehow connected to some of the major mobile networks. Obviously, the high mobile phone patronage should translate into Internet use to make every hamlet of the country become part of the global village in order to share in its joy and benefits.”

The editorial quoted from 2007 World Bank report on the Internet use in the world, which said that, “only 401,300 Ghanaians, representing 1.8 percent of the country’s population of an estimated 22 million, have access to the Internet.”

“The report cited Ghana as one of the African countries with the lowest record of Internet patronage, coming behind South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Senegal.” The question is, how come Ghana, the most peaceful and stable country in Africa should be trailing behind these countries when Ghana has a comprehensive ICT Policy, known as ICT for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) in place?

The editorial also quoted the President of the Ghana Association of Leasing Company (GALCO), Mr Ernest Mintah, to have made reference to the World Bank report and called for the government’s intervention to give more Ghanaians access to the Internet.

“According to him, the government should waive taxes and duties on computers and their accessories to allow for more importation of computers into the country in order to promote the use of computers and the Internet in schools and at workplaces.

“That Internet facilities and access to the personal computers enhance teaching and learning and increase the productivity of business can no longer be relegated to the background. But it is one thing having access to the personal computers and another having access to the Internet.”

This writer finds this point made by Graphic editorial very, very relevant. In countries like Singapore and others where ICT is leading them to become world superpower, they ensure that all pupils and students at various stages of the educational ladder, ranking from kindergarten the tertiary levels, computer and Internet facilities are made available for their studies. In fact, in Singapore, most students do no longer go to school with load of bags hanging on their necks. Students do their home works online and email them to their teachers for marking online.

In Ghana, the situation is diametrically the opposite. The evidence is that on the letters page of the Daily Graphic of the same Friday, August 1, 2008 when this pathetic editorial was written, there was a letter to the editor (page9), complaining about lack of computers in schools in Ghana. That letter, written by one Emmanuel Toklo of Gbawe Cluster of Schools, was captioned: “ICT with no computer?”

The opening paragraph of that letter read: “The academic year that ushers in the new educational system would come to an end on July 31, 2008. The introduction of the new system comes with ICT as a subject of study with a comprehensive syllabus.”

Then the second paragraph lamented: “But after three clear terms have passed, the teaching of ICT remains a theoretical subject such as history and social studies. What is more worrying is that there are no textbooks for the students to use to acquire basic computer literacy and they do not have the opportunity for acquiring practical experience.”

One unfortunate observation this writer has made about Ghana is that some times, if not most times, Government’s good intentions or laudable programmes and plans to help the citizenry is almost always frustrated and torpedoed by some individuals for their selfish end. If Government waives taxes and duties on computers and their accessories as recommended in the Graphic editorial under review, would importers of ICT equipment respond positively and reduce the prices of their goods for the benefit of the ordinary people, especially school pupils and students in this particular case?

Just take the recent fantastic gesture by government in abolishing or suspending taxes and duties on certain food items including rice, sugar, poultry, cooking oil, as well as petroleum products to alleviate economic hardships on the people of Ghana, being experienced globally. Some importers and retailers are taking undue advantage and have the pleasure to indulge in profiteering thereby making nonsense of Government’s magnanimity. Is it fair?

Right now Government has embarked upon the establishment of Community Information Centres (CICs) in all the 230 constituencies to take ICT closer to the door steps of rural communities and deprived zones in the country. There is the urgent need to expedite action on extension and expansion of telecommunications infrastructure to all parts of the country for computer and Internet facilities to reach everybody whether rich or poor.

This explains why this writer wishes to humbly appeal to politicians to minimise talking and politicking and as stated in the Graphic editorial, “that Ghana Telecom should be supported to become viable so that it can extend its land line system to the rural areas.”

I further agree with the last but one paragraph of Graphic editorial which pointed out that: “While we support Mr Minta’s appeal to the government to waive taxes and duties on computers and their accessories to allow for more importation of computers into the country, we also believe that mobile phone service providers which go to the aid of rural areas should be considered for tax rebates.”

As far back as 1997, a South African Minister for Communication predicted that the way ICT was ruling the world, “If you don’t Dot Com, you would be Dot Dead!” And, as Graphic editorial headline puts it, for Ghana to advance in the 21^st century, we must ensure “THAT ALL MAY ACCESS WWW.COM!”

Is Ghana ready for the upcoming oil boom?

Asks Mawutodzi K. Abissath
Oil boom

The traditional wisdom in African proverbs is beyond compare. Listen to this common one: “If you see your neigbour’s beard in flame, you must quickly run and fetch water near your own.”

Ghana is a blessed country in the true sense of the word! Ghana is a very fortunate nation not only in Africa but on the entire planet Earth. In fact, nature is so kind to Ghana that everyday the benevolence and the benediction of the Divine Intelligence are always pouring on her like showers from the heavens. The whole of Ghana is like the Garden of Eden. Delicious fruits, magnificent flowers, beautiful birds, singing melodious tunes in praise of the Creator from dawn to dusk non-stop. It is a land of queens and kings majestically dancing in palanquins from January to December. Ao! Ghana is a country every human being must visit at least once in one’s life!

The only sad thing about Ghana is that, some times, Ghanaians themselves do not seem to appreciate these blessings, let alone place any premium on them. Otherwise, how on earth will any citizen of Ghana dream of walking from Africa through the Sahara desert en route to Europe? Another African proverb admonishes us: “When the treasure is in the sitting room, you don’t need to go to the bedroom looking for it there.”

Ghana is also a very smart country in Africa indeed! In June 2007, when Ghana was at the zenith of her Golden Jubilee Celebrations, God sent his angel to bring a special message to the people of Ghana. That message was simple. The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and its partners including Kosmos Energy of the US and Tullow Oil of the UK broke the news of the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in the offshore Tan/West Cape Three Points Basin in the Western Region of our beloved country.

Strategies

From the day the oil discovery message was delivered to the number one citizen of the land, in the person of President J.A.Kufuor at the Castle, Osu in Accra, the Government and people of Ghana have never gone to bed to sleep. In other words, Ghanaians are not sitting on the fence with their arms in their laps with their mouths gaped towards the blue skies waiting for the honey to drip onto their tongues. (Kpaooo! Daaabida! Waalaaii)!

Ghana Government has ever since embarked on some public education strategies such as campaigns, seminars, fora, symposia, newspaper adverts etc. to alert the citizenry about the discovery of oil and what Government was doing and what was expected of every citizen so that the oil find becomes a blessing and not a curse as is the case in some neigbouring countries in the West Africa sub-region.

In fact a high-powered ministerial committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Advisor to the President at the office of the President was set up to supervise the activities of the oil exploration in the country. Other ministries of that committee include Finance and Economic Planning, Local Government, Rural Development & Environment, Defence, Attorney General’s Department, Fisheries and Harbours and Railways. Besides this committee which is advisory in nature, there is also a technical committee made up of experts from various sectors of the economy including GNPC, Environmental Protection Agency, and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Institute, the Ghana Navy, the Internal Revenue Service and so on.

The first major event Government embarked upon in this regard was what was dubbed, the broad-based consultative initiative on Ghana’s oil and gas industry forum. This maiden forum was officially opened by President Kufuor at the Ghana Institute of Public Administration (GIMPA) on Monday, February 25, 2008, Accra.

Conscious of the fact that Ghana is novice in oil and gas industry, experts were invited from all over the world including Mr Erik Solheim, Minister for Environment and International Development from Norway, to share their experiences with Ghana. A Ghanaian proverb says, “Wisdom is like a baobab tree, one person cannot embrace it.” And another famous Adinkra symbol of Ghana places value on knowledge so much so that it says: “A person who does not know can learn to know.” As a matter of fact, the African University College of Communications, (AUCC) founded by a very simple and humble but wise son of Ghana, in the person of Mr Kojo Yankah has adopted the above-stated symbols as the emblem of the AUCC.

On Saturday, 19^th July 2008, this writer happened to have witnessed the graduation ceremony of that University at their new City Campus at Adabaraka in the heart of Accra. And I bet you, reader, besides the founder of that University, the original African brains with unadulterated African wisdom behind it, you don’t need to be an astrologer like the three wise men of the Christian Bible from the East, to see the star and foretell that an African saviour has been born in Ghana, (not in Israel) to deliver Africans from a mental slavery. The Creator made sure that everything needed to develop scientifically and technologically is right here in Ghana and Africa. (Sorry for the digression.)

As I was saying, since the announcement of oil discovery in Ghana, Government has not been sitting down for manna to fall from heaven for Ghanaians. At the first oil and gas forum, it came to light that petroleum exploration activities actually started as far back as in the 1890s in the Half Assini area in the same Western Region of Ghana. “Records show that there was a small production in the offshore Half Assini area just at the beginning of the World War II. Then in the early 1970s, during the Busia regime, the Saltpond field was also discovered but did not prove commercial enough. In spite of this, it was not abandoned and it is currently producing 600 barrels of oil per day.” This was President Kufuor speaking at that oil and gas forum at GIMPA.

After that forum, the Oil and Gas Ministerial and Technical Committees had embarked on nation-wide tours where similar workshops were held in all the ten regions of Ghana, collating and collecting people’s views and opinions as to how Ghana must manage the oil in order to make life prosperous for every Ghanaian citizen regardless of socio-economic, political and cultural status and geographical locations.

I remember vividly that at one of the fora held at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region or so, someone was reported to have suggested that a special Oil Fund should be established for the welfare of the indigenous people on whose land the oil was discovered. That a special package must be prepared for them; their children and children’s children so that their eyes shall see poverty but their feet shall never step in the land of the poor souls for ever and ever. (Do I hear somebody say Amen?) This strategy of listening to ordinary down trodden’s views to be embodied in a National Oil and Gas Policy for Ghana is commendable to say the least. This explains why this writer thinks that Ghana is a very smart country. This gesture on the part of Government is one of the fruits of democracy and good governance. “Wo mpe woyiaa, wope den?” To wit – if you don’t like this, what do you want? – Common Ghanaian idiom!

Frankly, what actually motivated this author to write this piece was the fact that, besides those official workshops and seminars, which Ghanaians adore and enjoy to the brim, the Management of the Ghana Petroleum Corporation has been serialising a very comprehensive and educative document in the national dailies, namely, the Daily Graphic and the Ghanaian Times for some time now. I find these pull-outs on the oil industry titled: THE UPSTREAM PETROLEUM INDUSTRY IN GHANA – Oil and Gas Exploration, Development and Production,” very, very, timely and fantastic indeed!

With this educational material, anybody, especially a journalist or media practitioner who is desirous of writing about the oil and gas industry can educate himself or herself so as to communicate intelligibly about this highly scientific and technological sector of the economy. For instance, it is through this document that this writer got to know the basic difference between Upstream and Downstream Petroleum Industries. Upstream Petroleum Industry simply involves the Exploration, Development and Production of petroleum resources whilst when you talk of Downstream, you are referring to the refining/processing and distribution of petroleum products. All of these measures are indicative of Ghana’s readiness for the forthcoming oil boom in the country.

Suggestion

This writer, would, however, like to suggest that since Ghana is in transition from Oil Importing Country (OIC) to Oil Exporting (OEC) very soon, GNPC and its noble partners, Kosmos Energy and Tullow Oil, should consider organising some special training programme for Ghanaian journalists who may want to specialise in science and technology reporting, with particular focus on the oil industry (they do not necessarily have to be science students, but have the interest in writing about the industry) to start preparing them for the task ahead. This initiative will not only be in the interest of Ghana but the oil exploration firms in Ghana as well.

The Value of Monitoring and Evaluation of ICT Projects in Ghana

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

I am sure you know this popular Ghanaian proverb which admonishes that: “A person who is cutting a path does not know that his back is crooked.” This simple proverb epitomises the wisdom of African ancestors. For, it connotes that an unexamined life is not worth living.

A Zambian Information and Communication Specialist by name Mr Casius Chuma once remarked: “Monitoring and Evaluation is not there to spy on you, but to mirror your development trails.”

On Thursday, July 3, 2008, the Ghana Information and Knowledge Sharing Network (GINKS), a local-based coordinating partner of the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) of the Netherlands, orgnaised a half-day seminar for other ICT projects oriented partners including the Ministry of Information and National Orientation in Accra. The theme for the seminar was: “Enhancing Information and knowledge sharing as a tool for project sustainability.”

Dr Lawrence Kannae, Lecturer, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and Madam Martine Koopman, Information and Knowledge Officer, IICD served as main resource persons for the seminar. Dr Kannae’s presentation was on the topic, “Internal Strategies for Monitoring and Evaluating Projects” while Madam Koopman spoke on the topic, “Tips on Monitoring and Evaluation (IICD Pespective”)

Without exaggerating, this writer has participated in several seminars and workshops both at home and abroad in the course of his professional practice over the years, but this half a day seminar on monitoring and evaluation had been an eye opener for him in the true sense of the word. For, at the end of the day, it dawned on me that perhaps, many development projects in our beloved country, fail due to lack of effective monitoring and evaluation strategies.

Dr Kannae pointed out that Monitoring and Evaluation of any development project ought to be considered as a project in itself. Consequently, institutions or organisations that embark on projects in whatever capacity or scope must draw up a complete separate strategy for monitoring and evaluation. In other words, monitoring and evaluation plan must take into account the goals and objectives of the main development project in question. The input, processes, output, outcome as well as the anticipated impact of the project must be taken into consideration.

Monitoring and Evaluation activity must have an objective that is measurable, achievable and time-bound. It must be acceptable to management, relevant with valid data with a separate budget altogether. In fact, Monitoring and Evaluation is about performance, therefore, management must make provision for the necessary resources for its success. These resources include human, logistics and financial. The key stakeholders in the project must not be ignored in the monitoring and evaluation scheme of things or plan.

Another important point Dr Kannae made, which this writer find very, very crucial is communication monitoring and evaluation report. When monitoring and evaluation is conducted to assess the status of a project, a report must be filed and communicated to all concerned. This constitutes what can be termed as project feedback to management, financiers or sponsors of the project in question. One effective way to communicate the monitoring report to stakeholders is the creation of a special forum to reflect on the monitoring and evaluation report.

There could also be seminars, workshops or publication in a journal of such a report. And in communicating this report everybody connected with formulation and implementation of the project right from the secretary, field officers, the project manager, top management staff to the development partners or sponsors must have access to this report for analysis and evaluation. This will enable all concerned to pass their comments, or make suggestions or recommendations for the future plans of the main project.

Methodology

In her presentation, Madam Koopman enlightened participants on the methodology employed by IICD in the monitoring and evaluation of its ICT related projects sponsored in various countries in Africa including Ghana. She made it clear that Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is high on the agenda of many development organisations, including that of IICD.

However, Madam Koopman explained that, while M&E is generally used as a tool to measure results and provide accountability, IICD further introduced M&E for the purpose of learning. She then distributed copies of a leaflet which describes the added value of M&E for learning, how it is organised and what was learned over the years. It was a fantastic practical leaning strategy for all participants present at the seminar.

It came to light that the work IICD is carrying out in various countries is led by guiding principles. One of the most important principles is the local ownership of projects supported by IICD. Apparently the ultimate objective of IICD in supporting development partners is to help such partners be it financially or technically to take charge and be responsible for the results of the activities on the ground. Because of this eventual self-supporting strategy the M&E system designed by IICD is based on the same philosophy that monitoring and evaluation is not “to spy on you” but to help local partners to learn from experiences and to take ownership of their projects and manage them for the development of their respective nations.

In line with its unique approach, IICD makes M&E an integral part of project development and implementation in all of its country programmes globally. Consequently IICD’s Country Programme supports local partners in the developing countries and encourages them to make efforts to implement ICT as a tool for development in various sectors of their economies.

Other unique principles that IICD adopts in M&E methodology include, Marketing principles. The orgnisation came by this principle following a long process of experimenting and discussing the various options, the method of data collection used commercially for marketing purposes. Madam Koopman explained that one good way to reflect on progress is by asking the target group, including end-users of projects such as farmers, teachers or even traders, depending on the nature of the ICT project concerned and the locality in which it is being implemented.

Another important principle is Building trust. The IICD Information and Knowledge Officer related that one of the things IICD had learned over the years was that the term “evaluation” was often met with resistance. Thus to overcome the reluctance of partners and end-users to openly discuss difficulties and challenges, IICD separated the learning process from financial control. “Neither the online questionnaires nor the focus group meetings contain any financial aspects. This is a very strong feature of IICD’s M&E system,” Madam Koopman disclosed.

The technique of using questionnaires and results from focus group meetings over the past years have been immensely helpful in providing insight and creating a reflective tool for IICD’s partners. So far, over 18,000 questionnaires is reported to have been collected with almost 4,000 responses from project end-users. The end-user evaluation for each project is said to be repeated annually in order to learn over time from changes in the data how project cycle could possibly be improved.

The way forward

The IICD Resource Person told seminar participants that in the past years the organisation had accumulated a lot of experience with Monitoring and Evaluation through online tools. Through this strategy, the IICD learned a great deal from impact measurement at the end-user level, which makes it possible for it to see which questions work and which ones do not for assessment purposes.

The IICD hopes to further expand its learning strategy through the M&E. The organisation also looks into how local ownership of the entire Monitoring and Evaluation process can be further strengthened. The ultimate goal is to eventually make it possible for local project partners to learn to own, manage and use the M&E system to do their own learning as a way forward for effective and efficient implementation of sponsored ICT related project for the development of their respective countries for the benefit of their people. It is suggested that the ICT industry in Ghana will take Monitoring and Evaluation aspect of project management seriously the for scientific and technological advance of Ghana.

Challenges of the Information Officer of the Digital Age

Digital Government

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

My beloved brothers and sisters in information and communication industry in Ghana, verily, verily, I say unto you that the World Wide Web (www) with its offspring, the Internet, brought about by the Information and Communication Technology (ICT), is very, very useful indeed! If it weren’t so, I wouldn’t have told you so. But it all depends on how you use its tools to advance your course.

When doing a research to write this feature, I browsed the web and used the Google search engine to look up the definition of the three key words in the headline above namely, “challenge”, “information” and “digital.” I was amazed at the thousand and one shades of meaning available on the net. Yet, for purposes of this article, I just picked the basic meanings that best suit my intention. And that intention was to try as much as possible to write on technical subjects without much indulging in technical jargons, so that ordinary readers can enjoy reading the piece and understand the real issue at stake.

Thus, Challenge was defined as “a situation or difficulty that tests one’s ability to do something.” Information - “a collection of related data; knowledge about a topic; data that have been processed into a format that is understandable by intended audience.” Digital – “generally, information is expressed, stored and transmitted by either analog or digital means. In a digital form, this information is seen in a binary state as either a one or a zero, a plus or a minus. The computer uses digital technology for most actions.”

Analogically, let’s say that, as an Information Officer of the digital age, it was possible for me to obtain the meanings of these words on the Internet while using the computer. Otherwise, I would have been obliged to look for a big dictionary, which might not be available for me at the time of writing. The challenge that would have confronted me would have been my inability to obtain these definitions on the Internet instantly if I had not acquired some basic knowledge or the technique of utilising the tools of ICT to search online or the web.

In Ghana, Information Officers, like any other professionals, have been contributing their quota to the development of the nation from time immemorial. They have been discharging their duties by disseminating government information to the people. They do this by interpreting government policies and explaining less understood or misunderstood issues to the people at the grassroots. They, in turn, send feedback to government by informing the authorities about the sentiments, views, opinions the real feelings of the people on such policies or programmes for necessary reviews or modifications in the best interest of the governed.

For example, the implementation of national policies such as the National Health Insurance Scheme, the Capitation Grant, the School Feeding Programme, the National Youth Employment Programme, the Cedi Redenomination Programme, the Education Reform, the Regenerative Health and Nutrition Programme, the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty, the National Identification Programme, just to mention a few, are issues that Information Officers have been supporting other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as other public and private organisations to educate the public about their value to society without playing politics with them at all. And where the desired impacts are lacking they have the responsibility to alert Government. Information Officers are professional civil servants who are mandated to play this role to assist any government in power for the prosperity of the nation.

Each year when the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning presents the national budget to Parliament, especially where new policy statements are made in the budget, all Regional and District Information Officers are convened in Accra for orientation. Experts from the Finance Ministry are invited to educate and explain policy issues to these Information Officers to enable them to understand and be well informed themselves first before they go back to their various districts to interpret the policies to ordinary citizens in their own local languages.

The latest policy issue, for instance, was the Communication Service Tax, popularly known as “Talk Tax.” Again, when the Bank of Ghana (BoG) came up with the Redenomination of the Cedi programme last year, this orientation was organised for Information Officers, who in turn, went to every corner of the country to explain the programme to the people at the grassroots, in addition to radio and television publicity embarked upon the BoG. This was how the Cedi Redenomination public education campaign was very, very effective and successful nation wide.

One principal and traditional means by which Information Officers have been discharging these functions in deprived and rural communities in the country was the use of the famous Information Cinema Vans. Today with the availability of over 130 FM Radio stations and appreciable number of television stations in the Ghana, Information Officers have access to other communication channels to complement the use of Cinema Vans. Again, Information Officers have the opportunity to diversify the use of Cinema Vans by producing video films, DVD and CD documentaries to supplement their traditional means of disseminating public information to the citizenry.

Now, with the Digital Age, ushered in by ICT, which has transformed the globe into a miniature community, and changed the way things are done from archeology to zoology, Information Officers, too, have new challenges to encounter. As Digital Information Officers now, therefore, there is no way they can discharge their duties effectively and efficiently if they do not acquire some basic knowledge and skills in the application of ICT tools. They need to know something about E-Government strategy. In this context e-Government simply means electronic government or government online.

About 20 years ago or so, the United Nations called on governments the world over to reengineer governance by adopting e-government strategies so as to provide public services to their citizens online. Singapore which was one of the countries in the world to adhear to the UN’s call quickly coined a slogan: “Any service that can be provided electronically must be provided electronically.” Little wonder by 2004, when UN conducted a global survey to ascertain which countries were providing effective public services to their citizens online, Singapore was second only to Canada. In fact, Canada was first in e-government strategy with Singapore and US sharing the second position before others followed, according to that survey. The question is how Singapore, a very tiny island with a population of less than six million with no natural resources whatsoever, share a position with the all might America in e-government strategy? Whether we like it or not, Singapore is a world superpower in ICT. Period!

E-government has objective and scope. Digital Information Officers need to know some of the basic e-government terminologies such as Government-to-Citizen (G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B), Government-to-Employees (G2E) and Government-to-Government (G2G) etc, so that when they are disseminating government information electronically, they will know exactly what they are about.

Even though the digital gap between Ghana and Singapore may take some generations to bridge, it is gratifying to note that the Government of Ghana has also heeded the UN injunction for adoption of e-government strategy to provide public services to its citizens online. One of measures the Government adopted to this end was the establishment of the Government of Ghana Portal www.ghana.gov.gh which is being managed by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation since 2003.

At the moment the Portal provides information on all sectors of the economy online. It also publishes major development oriented news on daily basis. It is yet to provide public services online. This has to be done in collaboration with some public services providers. Measures are being put in place for online services delivery on the Portal professionally. One particular development partner which supported the Information Ministry in the establishment of the Ghana Portal under what was known as Ghana Dot.Gov Project was the International Institute for Communication Development (IICD), based in the Netherlands.

It is commendable to observe since 2003, the IICD has maintained its technical and financial support to the Ministry of Information in terms of capacity building in ICT for staff of the Ministry and provisions of some equipment such as computers for the management of the Ghana Portal. Having realised that it is only when Information Officers are trained in ICT that they can cope with the demands of the digital age, the IICD has accepted a proposal to help the Ministry to establish an ICT Training Centre within the Ministry to provide constant training and technological upgrading for staff of the Ministry, the Information Services Department and as well as other MDAs in the country.

At the time of writing this piece, work has started on the ICT Training Centre project. UNDP has also been collaborating with the Information Ministry in the capacity building in ICT as reported in a previous article titled: “Ghana’s Community Information Centres (CICs) Project on Course,” published in the Daily of May 29, 2008. IICD is also supporting the CICs project in some rural communities in Northern Ghana.

Ghana Government itself has embarked upon other far reaching e-government projects to make the provision of public services to citizens online a reality in the country. For instance, there is a major E-Ghana Project with the support of the World Bank being undertaken by the Ministry of Communications to transform the whole nation into an e-society. Within the framework of this project, a National Optic Fibre Backbone was needed as infrastructure development leading to achieving that goal. In fact, Ghana’s Ministry of Communications has already completed the first phase of the National Backbone project.

The Ghana Information and Communication Technology Directorate (GICTeD), which is responsible for the e-government component of the E-Ghana Project, is feverishly linking up with other MDAs to ensure the delivery of the following national tasks for the country to be classified among e-government nations of the world: 1. Establishment of Internet registry for Ghana; 2. Establishment of Digital Signature Registry; 3. Establishment of Certified Electronic Mail System for MDAs and 4.Establishment of Electronic Document Workflow System for Ghana. These entire digital infrastructures must be in place to enable the Information Officer to meet the challenges of the digital age squarely.

Preparing For Oil Boom in Ghana: Any lessons from others?

Oil field in Ghana

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

Do not forget this simple but sagacious Ghanaian proverb which admonishes us: “If Sunday will be a magnificent day, it is Saturday that will ignite the taper.”

Ghana is one of the most blessed lands in Africa. Ghana is very, very rich in mineral resources. Ghana is endowed with gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese etc. Ghana has cocoa, timber, arable lands, and rivers, rain forests, nourished with alternating rains and illuminated by tropical sun shine all year round.

However, Ghana has been politically mismanaged for a long time by corrupt politicians and selfish military adventurers who make a ship-load of cocoa to be at large on the Atlantic Ocean. This explains why Ghana had to be christened a Heavily Indebted Poor Country ( HIPC) in the economic history of the country.

In June 2007, just about three months after Ghana had celebrated her Golden Jubilee Anniversary, on 6^th March that year, an American oil exploration company called Kosmos Energy in collaboration with Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) went to the Castle Osu in Accra to see the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Mr John Agyekum Kufuor. In a typical Ghanaian traditional fashion, President Kufuor and his elders sat down to listen to the scientific and technological visitors.

The leader of Kosmos Energy, Mr. James C. Musselman, who is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of that oil exploration company, told the presidential linguist to inform the President that they had brought good news to him. Then the President responded: “In Ghanaian culture, news cannot be said to be good or bad until it is told. So, therefore, I, the first public servant of the land and my presidential elders are all ears to hear the news you brought this dawn when we are yet to put a drop of water on our tongues.”

It was then that Mr. Musselman told the presidential linguist to inform H.E. that he and his partners had come to announce to the President that Kosmos Energy had discovered oil in commercial quantity offshore the Republic of Ghana on the West Cape Three Points Block in the western region of the country. At first the President seemed not to have heard the message properly. So, he adjusted himself in his royal/presidential armchair, cleared his throat and commanded the presidential linguist to order the Komos engineer to repeat his message. Then Mr Musselman, a little bit apprehensive, as if he had committed some blunder, and with nervous voice said: “Pleeease, eerr –Okyeame, I say kindly inform His Excellency the President that our mission here this morning is to announce to him that our company has discovered about 600million barrels of light oil offshore his beloved country – Ghana.

One would have expected the President to jump to his feet at once and start jubilating.

Instead, President Kufuor further probed: “Okyeame, ask the Kosmos engineer what is the proof that Ghana has discovered oil as he claims.” Then Mr Musselman, put his hand in a goat skin leather bag and brought out a bottle of some dark-brownish liquid. Some of the liquid was poured into a plate. To a layman like this author, the said liquid looked very much like pure honey. “Take this,” says Mr Musselman, “present it to H.E. that this is the proof that Ghana has oil flowing under the sea in the Western Region.”

It was only after President Kufuor, has held the sample of the oil in his own hand and dipped his own forefinger in the honey-like liquid and smelled it before he nodded his head approvingly that Ghana has actually discovered oil in commercial quantity. Then President Kufuor repeated what he said in his broadcast to the nation on the eve of Ghana’s Golden Jubilee Anniversary: “IT IS GREAT TIME TO BE GHANAIAN.”

President Kufuor then expressed his personal gratitude and that of the people of Ghana to Kosmos and its partners for a wonderful job done. He quickly cautioned that honesty, transparency and the spirit of win-win principle must guide the operations of oil companies exploring the “black gold” in Ghana. The President was speaking from experience in terms of the living conditions of people and communities where Ghana’s red gold which has been mined from time immemorial and the environmental degradation being bequeathed to generations yet unborn.

On Tuesday, June 10, 2008, the entire front page of the Daily Graphic was devoted solely to oil discovery business in Ghana. In fact, the banner headline for that day read: Test of well yields positive results. OIL – 120,000 BARRELS IN A DAY – Production expected to rise in 2012. This headline was illustrated with a lead photograph in which President J.A.Kufuor was seen congratulating Mr James Musselman, the Chief Executive Officer of Komos Energy, after the latter had briefed the President on the latest development in the country’s oil find. In the same picture were spotted Mr George Owusu, said to be Ghana’s representative of Kosmos, as well as Mr Sekyere Abankwa, Board Chairman of GNPC.

The first paragraph of this lead story, written by Nehemia Owusu Achiaw read: “Commercial production of oil is scheduled to begin in the country in the first quarter of 2010 with an initial output of 120,000 barrels a day.”

The second most important story on the front page of the paper that day, too, had to do with oil exploration in Ghana. It was captioned: “…41 Firms apply for exploration” The opening paragraph read: “The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) says it has been inundated with applications from foreign companies expressing interest to invest in oil exploration between January 2007 and June 2008.”

The purpose of this piece is simply to remind the people of this country that whether we like it or not, Ghana is in transition from Oil Importing Country (OIC) to Oil Exporting Country (OEC). In other words, all being equal, there will be oil boom in Ghana, sooner than anticipated, judging from what experts in the industry are saying. Naturally, this calls for jubilation. But it is important for us as a nation to tread cautiously so that the oil find in Ghana will be a blessing and not a curse.

For now this author will only like to cite two oil producing countries in Africa namely, Nigeria and Libya and alert Ghanaians to take note of how those countries are managing their oil boom for the benefit of their people. It appears something is not being done properly in the management of the oil industry in Nigeria. As a result the delta oil rich region is being degraded environmentally. Media reports indicate that the poverty level of people living in that oil rich region in Nigeria is nothing to write home about. Why? No further comments for now.

On the other hand, it seems Libya is doing something worthy of emulating by Ghana. This writer has learnt that there is no single school-going-child in Libya who is not in school. That not a single adult citizen of that country has no apartment for himself or herself. In fact, Libya is a country located in the middle of a desert in northern part of Africa. But Libya has been able to create an artificial river of thousands of kilometers long and is in the process of transforming the desert into a virgin rain forest zone through irrigation schemes. How are Ghanaians preparing for oil boom in Ghana? Are they learning any lessons from others?

Preparing Tomorrow’s African Leaders Today: Interview with Prof. Ncube

Prof. Mthuli Ncube


By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

There is a Ghanaian proverb which says: “If your friend is more handsome than you, you must admit it and praise him; rather than trying to envy and denigrate him.”

Undoubtedly, one positive legacy the defunct apartheid South Africa bequeathed modern South Africa is excellent educational system. What one may condemn is the fact that, perhaps in the past, only the “White” mostly benefited from that outstanding educational system to the detriment of the “Black.” It is hoped things are changing and rightly so, for the advance of humanity, regardless of colour of the skin.

This author is not unaware that since the end of the apartheid system in South Africa in the early 1990s, many African citizens from various parts of the continent including Ghana, have been receiving both professional and academic training in some of the institutions of higher learning in that country. This trends of event is very commendable and must be maintained and sustained if the entire African continent is to disentangle itself from the shackles of poverty and squalor in the midst of abundant natural resources on this planet of interdependence.

Wits Business School (WBS) of the University of Witwatersrand, is one the outstanding institutions of high learning which has distinguished itself in the training of future leaders in Africa. The School’s motto Sculpting Global Leaders in Africa speaks for itself. Since its establishment in 1968, WBS is said to have undergone tremendous leadership changes. This year, the School is poised to celebrate its 40th anniversary in higher education in grand style. Records show that the contribution of WBS to the business community in South Africa for the past 40 years cannot be overemphasised.

It is against this backdrop that this author set out to conduct this online interview with the Director and Head of the School, Professor Mthuli Ncube. The object of the interview is to find out what has made WBS what it is today. What is its prospect for the next 40 years? But then when I took a glance at the Prof’s profile, it did not take long to conclude to myself I was dealing with a man of a thousand lives. In other words, one may not be too wide of the mark to describe Professor Ncube as a multi-talented soul personality!

When I got to know that Prof. Ncube was once a Visiting Scholar in the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and conscious of the fact that the IMF and the World Bank are sometimes perceived globally of being institutions that hardly grant loans to developing countries without strings attached, my first question to him was to share his experiences with the Fund to the rest of the African media.

Frankly, I was not only intrigued but also fascinated by the way Prof. Ncube answered my loaded question in one simple and straightforward sentence. He wrote: “The IMF was created, largely as a provider of Balance of Payments support to distressed economies.”

Second question: “What would be your personal assessment of the financial support of the Fund (IMF) over the years to the economic prosperity of developing countries, especially African nations?”

Answer: “The financial assistance from the IMF to Africa has been appropriate. It was mainly targeted at Balance of Payments (BOP) support. What was missing in the reform programs is support for institutional reforms, which largely explain the ineffectiveness of the reform programs,” he pointed out.

On the actual issue of my interview, which was the 40^th anniversary celebration of WBS, I requested the Professor to tell me how he came to be associated with that famous University of Witwatersrand of which he is the Director and Head of School of Business Administration. In other words, I wanted him to inform the rest of Africa about some of WBS’s achievements over the past 40 years, challenges and the way forward.

Hear him: “I joined with Wits Business School in 2005 as a Professor of Finance and was subsequently appointed Director of the School by the University. The challenges of the School are the attraction and retention of lecturers in the face of uncompetitive salaries in universities. However, the School has produced some of the most successful entrepreneurs and managers in the country. Going forward, the challenge is to grow our presence and relevance in the rest of the African continent, and stay competitive globally.”

My next question to Prof. Ncube was to find out whether his University has any plans for preparing future African leaders in terms of programs aimed at educating students for effective financial management of the unlimited natural resources of the continent, such as gold, uranium, diamond, oil and so on.

His response was to the point: “The School has launched a program for training future leaders in Africa, the Pan African Leadership Program. The School has various programs in finance and one jointly with Imperial College, UK, for managers in the mining sector.”

The final question I put to the Professor was this: “What is the position of WBS in the scheme of African Universities at the moment and what would the University be doing differently in the next 40 years of its existence?”

Simple answer from Prof. Ncube thus: “In the next forty years the School will become more involved in training leaders and managers in Africa – “Sculpting Global Leaders in Africa.”

If I were to pass any comment on this brief interaction with Professor Ncube through this online interview, I would simply say that this is a man who knows his left from the right. Period!

Ghana’s Community Information Centres Project On Course

Dr Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu, Member of the NASA Mars Rover Mission, US (Source: AP Photo/NASA, Bill Ingralls

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

Shall we refresh our memory with this simple but tricky African proverb which says: “If your hair is dirty and you do not submit your head to a Barber, nobody will cut the hair for you.” To wit: “No initiative, no end result.”

Information and Communication Technology ICT has not only succeeded in transforming the world into a miniature community but has made it possible for mankind to be developing another dwelling place beyond the moon besides the planet Earth. But it seems to this author that the rate at which other continents are scrambling for space in the space, and the pace at which Africa is crawling scientifically and technologically, it may take another two centuries, that is, perhaps in the 23^rd century before Africa can book a place in the space.

Fortunately for Africa, however, even though the Continent itself seems to be hopeless technologically, there are abundant individual African citizens dotted in all corners of the globe who are contributing technologically to advancement of mankind into the space. This author can cite at least one citizen of Africa – a Ghanaian to be precise by name Dr Ashitey Trebi-Ollenu who is a Member of the NASA Mars Rover Mission in America. So, therefore, there is hope for Africa scientifically and technologically.

In 2003, Ghana Government completed the formulation of a comprehensive ICT Policy for the nation. It is known as Ghana Information and Communication Technology for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD). It was spearheaded by the Ministry of Communications. It may, however, be of historical interest to state in passing that the work on the ICT Policy for Ghana actually started in October 1998 by the then NDC Government. A National Communications Policy Conference dubbed, COMPOL ‘98 involving all stakeholders in the ICT sector was held at the Accra International Conference Centre in Accra. The policy document was finalised in October 2000 at Akosombe for the approval of Cabinet. However, due to bureaucracy the then Cabinet could not pass the Communications Bill before elections 2000.

Then in September 2001, the NPP Government also organised another National Communications Policy Conference, held at GIMPA to review and update the Communication Policy Document formulated by the previous Government. The result is what is today referred to as GHANA ICT POLICY FOR ACCELERATED DEVELOPMENT. It is commendable to observe that when one Government initiates a project or programme which is in the national interest, another Government will take it up, review it, update and improve upon it instead of throwing it out altogether. And it is recalled that it was on that fateful Tuesday of September 11, 2001 when the communication conference was opened at GIMPA that the tragic news of terrorist bombing of the World Trade Centre flashed across the globe.

Within the frame work of ICT4AD, Ghana Government has embarked upon several projects including E-Ghana Project to transform Ghana into an information enabled society for knowledge based economic development. But the focus of this piece is on the Community Information Centres (CICs) project which is not only human-centered but underprivileged rural dweller-centered as well.

As a matter of fact, the CICs project also falls within the framework of World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), where all nations are enjoined to attain certain targets, including the provision of ICT access and skills to the underprivileged and rural dwellers globally. And one concrete strategy Ghana Government adopted to attain this target was to establish Community Information Centres in all the 230 constituencies throughout the country. Beyond WSIS’s broad objective for all nations, Ghana Government set its own clear cut and specific objectives to use the CICs project to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural dwellers in the country.

Government aims at demystifying that xenophobic aura surrounding Computers by taking ICT to the doorsteps of deprived and neglected brothers and sisters in remote rural areas through the Community Information Centres in about 170 districts in Ghana. The CICs are to serve as training centres where acquisition of ICT skills and knowledge are provided for underprivileged people. The CICs are to bring government services online closer to the people at the grassroots. Rural school pupils and students can access online library facilities from top educational institutions in any part of world. In fact the CICs are to serve as a hub in the provision of Wide Area Network for various district offices of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies as well as private business entities, NGOs and Community Based Organisations, Women Groups operating in rural zones of the country. Government is financing the CICs project through HIPC funds with support of the Country office of the UNDP in Accra.

Ghana Investment Fund for Telecommunications (GIFTEL) under the supervision of the Ministry of Communications is facilitating the provision of connectivity and infrastructure to the CICs that have been constructed at underserved/un-served and remote areas. The Project is being implemented jointly with the Ministry of Information and National Orientation (MINO) in terms of content development of the CICs nation wide with technical and administrative support from UNDP with particular reference to ICT capacity building for Information Officers throughout the country. For instance, between May 2007 and April 2008, MINO was able to provide basic ICT capacity building to over 100 of its District Information Officers, Public Relations Officers and Journalists. Some of the areas covered through workshops and seminars include Computer Literacy, Online-Journalism, Content Development and Information Technology Management, thanks to UNDP.

As of December 2007, GIFTEL was also able to provide training for over 300 persons from decentralised organisations in twenty-two beneficiary districts in the country. These are the people trained specifically to manage the CICs. Records also show that Wide Area Network had been completed to extend internet connectivity to tweny-six (26) CICs. Further, thirty-seven (37) CICs are currently said to be operational with full compliment of computers, Local Area Network and Wide Area Network. According to Mr. Samuel Mensah, Director of Administration at GIFTEL, a total of one hundred and ten (110) computers had been deployed at twenty-two (22) new CICs in some selected districts in the country.

It is important to clarity the point that more CICs are reported to be at various stages of development which an ICT technical person will be in a better position to explain or comment upon. But it is gratifying to note that slowly but steadily, Ghana’s Community Information Centres project is on course. And all things being equal, as this author was assured, H.E. President J.A. Kufuor will officially commission some selected CICs nation wide before the end of the year 2008.