Victoria Hamah (middle), Dr. Osei Darkwa (left) with other executives at the conference
Dr. Abdulai Baba Salifu, Director- General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-Ghana), has stated that Africa should institute the right policies to develop mobile technologies that would attract foreign investments.
He added that the development of mobile technologies in Africa will create a competitive market for both local and foreign investments and improve utilization of mobile technology.
?Mobile telephones can be described as the most pervasively used Information Communication Technology (ICT) with a great deal of impact on our social, economic and political lives. The mobile telephone is now a strategic business tool to enhance the competitiveness of small business in Africa,? Dr. Salifu said.
He said Africa is challenged in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of improving maternal health, poverty reduction, and reducing child mortality because of low penetration of internet and broadband services.
Dr Salifu was speaking at a conference at the Ghana Technology University College (GTUC) in Accra, themed, ?Applications of Mobile Communications in Africa- Prospect and challenges.?
He said advanced countries have benefited tremendously from the use of various forms of ICT that has resulted in the improvement of human lives, trade, transport, governance, health, research, agriculture and financial services.
Victoria Lakshmi Hamah, Deputy Minister for Communications, speaking at the conference, said in spite of the opportunities mobile communications provide, Africa is faced with a number of challenges that impede growth in telecommunication sector.
?Cutting of fibre cables laid by operators disrupts the quality of service. There is also limited mobile coverage especially in the underserved communities which has also led to poor internet connectivity. Mobile technology is powered by electricity, which is a challenge to most of rural Africa, Ghana inclusive,? she noted.
She said Government has implemented the e-Government Network infrastructure nationwide and has also constructed the Eastern Corridor Fibre project to provide world-class communication infrastructure in Ghana, adding that the projects would offer adequate capacity and connectivity to areas that are not considered profitable by service providers.
Dr. Osei Darkwa, President of GTUC, in a remark, said the rapid adoption of mobile telephone on the African continent has generated a great deal of speculation regarding its effect on socio-economic development.
BY Lady Agyapong
