Communications Minister pushes for higher internet penetration

Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, Minister of Communications on Wednesday backed the call by civil society organisations (CSOs) for government to prioritise and increase investment to improve internet penetration and access.

He urged participants at the opening of a Regional Preparatory Meeting for Africa to take up the call and fuse it in their deliberations in the next three days.

CSOs had appealed to government to prioritise and shore up investment in Information Communication Technology (ICT) to improve internet penetration and access.

Dr Boamah observed that since the meeting aimed at working towards the World Telecommunications Development Conference 2014, the message was a clarion call for all individual countries.

He said there is the need for countries to go beyond prioritising to provide high-speed internet at “very affordable prices and good quality for the benefit of everybody irrespective of their location.”

Dr Boamah called on the participants to remind themselves about the need to place people at the centre of decisions in the promotion of ICT for the development of the continent.

“This is not an easy proposition in this era of technology and the necessity to build an inclusive and sustainable information and knowledge society.

“We have no option in this regard. We must deliver if we truly are the policy-makers, the industry players, the development partners, the civil society and the academia and indeed the true representatives of the people.

“We must at all times recognise that the people will not lower their expectations because there are challenges,” he said.

Source: GNA