GIFEC collaborates with Police service on information system
Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, is to implement the criminal information system to manage its operations.
The system, which is a management information arrangement, would be interfaced with the Judicial Service and the Ghana Prisons Service for biometric data of accused and suspected persons.
Alhaji Yahaya Zakaria Osman, Director of Operations, GIFEC reflecting on the Fund’s Achievements as part of its 10th Anniversary said it has distributed 27, 500 laptops to state institutions and other organisations.
The Anniversary, which is being marked on the theme: “10 years of Bridging the Digital Divide in Ghana, GIFEC Experience,” commences from Monday, May 23 and is expected to end on Friday, May 27.
The lined up activities, include symposiums, lectures, stakeholder engagements, medical outreach, donation and thanksgiving service.
In July 2004, the government set up Ghana Investment Fund for Telecommunications as an agency of the Ministry of Communications to facilitate the provision of universal access to basic telephony by the unserved and underserved communities in the country.
The Electronic Communications Act 775 promulgated in 2008, gave the legal backing to the agency, which started operations in January 2005, changed the agency’s name to GIFEC and widened the scope of its mandate.
This includes the provision of access to electronic services including ICT, broadcasting, Internet, multimedia service and basic telephony, by the unserved and underserved communities in Ghana.
He said the Fund has also fully furnished and equipped about 639 ICT laboratories with accessories and Internet connectivity for various educational institutions.
He said GIFEC has mounted 51 sites as part of the telephony project, while 7, 000 mobile handsets has been distributed to rural communities.
As part of ongoing projects, he said, the Fund is building a satellite hub to provide communities with communication accessibility.
“We are extending the emergency response system and supporting the birth and death registry,” he added.
He said GIFEC is supporting government to implement the broad objective of tele-medicine to improve on health care delivery.
The Director of Operations said the Fund is working with government on tax waiver for provision of Internet service.
“We are having strategic partnership with network operators for subsidised bandwidth for its projects,” he said.
Source: GNA