NITA GETS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
A 9 member Board of directors for the National Information Technology Agency has been inaugurated in Accra, Friday.
The National Information Technology Agency (NITA) which is responsible for the regulation of Information Technology Communication (ICT) and electronic transaction in the country was established by an Act of Parliament (Act 771) in 2008.
The objective of the Agency is “to regulate the provision of ICT, ensure provision quality ICT and promote standards of efficiency and ensure high quality of service”.
The board is under the chairmanship of Dr. Nii Naaku Quaynor, and Mr. William Tevie as the Acting Director General.
Other members are Mr. Charles Aboah, Dr. Tony Aidoo, Mr. Eugene Agben, Mrs. Gladys Quarshie, Mr. Sylvester Kow Williams, Dr. Narteh Siaw-Sappore and Mr. Daniel Asante.
Inaugurating the board, Hon. Haruna Idrisu, the Minister for Communication asked the board to use their experience and expertise to support the Ministry of Communication and NITA to ensure the development of ICT in the country.
He urged the board to guide NITA to provide technology standards for specified hardware and software and ensure compliance with standards set for the Agency.
“Indeed how we strategise to take advantage of new and emerging technologies to improve upon service delivery to the citizenry rest on your shoulders”, he told the board.
Mr. Haruna Idrisu added that the board has to provide a strategic direction to empower NITA to persue the management of the nation’s ICT resources on a unified platform.
He said that the intervention would help eliminate the tendency of government agencies and institutions managing information technology resources independently and in an incompatible manner resulting in a waste, redundancy and unnecessary duplication.
Mr. Haruna Idrisu urged the board to work hard to move into the ICT “money zone” through effective delivery service.
“I challenge you to work hard under the guidance of the board to generate revenue and wean itself of the consolidated budget with the shortest possible time”, he added.
Mr. William Tevie, the Acting Director General of NITA said that NITA is in the middle to deploying different kinds of projects in the ICT space for government which include deploying eGovernment applications, intra government communication among others.
He promised that the board will work hard and make sure that the board delivers value to the government.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
FIND A LASTING SOLUTION TO WATER PROBLEM IN THE COUNTRY.
Water since the creation of the world has been an important commodity in the lives of men.
There is no doubt that man can never live without water. The lack of water coupled with the lack of basic sanitation and the death of education on hygiene, it is also one of the obstacles to progress and development in every country.
Lack of water in a country contributes to wide spread of suffering, including increased poverty, depressed education and political instability.
The issue of water problem has been a thorn in the flesh of many governments across the world, especially in Africa.
The people of this country have been facing water problem for some years now but nothing has been done about it. The people in the Northern Region, Central and Greater Accra has the biggest of this water problem in the country.
Do we always have to sit and be arguing about this issue without solutions?
We have a lot of water bodies in the country but we don’t make good use of them.
The Weija Lake is located near Kasoa but the people of Kasoa have the biggest problem when it comes to getting access to potable drinking water.
I am therefore appealing to the government, the Minster Water Resources Works and Housing and those in authority to help find a lasting solution to this water problem in the country.
I will also suggest that all water bodies especially must be used to provide water to the people of Kasoa and its environs and the government must provide bole holes to every part of the country especially the rural areas.
I am very optimistic that taking these solutions into consideration will help end water problem issues in the country.
Water since the creation of the world has been an important commodity in the lives of men.
There is no doubt that man can never live without water. The lack of water coupled with the lack of basic sanitation and the death of education on hygiene, it is also one of the obstacles to progress and development in every country.
Lack of water in a country contributes to wide spread of suffering, including increased poverty, depressed education and political instability.
The issue of water problem has been a thorn in the flesh of many governments across the world, especially in Africa.
The people of this country have been facing water problem for some years now but nothing has been done about it. The people in the Northern Region, Central and Greater Accra has the biggest of this water problem in the country.
Do we always have to sit and be arguing about this issue without solutions?
We have a lot of water bodies in the country but we don’t make good use of them.
The Weija Lake is located near Kasoa but the people of Kasoa have the biggest problem when it comes to getting access to potable drinking water.
I am therefore appealing to the government, the Minster Water Resources Works and Housing and those in authority to help find a lasting solution to this water problem in the country.
I will also suggest that all water bodies especially must be used to provide water to the people of Kasoa and its environs and the government must provide bole holes to every part of the country especially the rural areas.
I am very optimistic that taking these solutions into consideration will help end water problem issues in the country.
Friday, August 20, 2010
To mark this year’s World Humanitarian Day, the Acting United Nations Resident Coordinator, Madam Elizabeth Moundo on Wednesday lighted a candle to honour Ghanaians who have lost their lives in Humanitarian service, in Accra.
On December 2008, the General Assembly set aside August 19th to “increase public awareness about humanitarians, the UN associated personnel who have worked in the promotion of the humanitarian cause and those who have lost their lives in the cause of duty”.
The Day has its origin from the bombing of the United Nations Office in Iraq on 19th August 2003, in which 22 people lost their lives including the then Special Representative of Secretary General, Sergio Viera de Mello.
Madam Elizabeth Moundo said that man-made and natural disasters cause immense suffering for millions of people every year and it is often among the world’s poorest, most marginalized and vulnerable individuals.
She said that there are currently more than 27 million refugees in the world, due to man-made or natural disasters.
“One out of every six people in the world is chronically hungry. Humanitarian aid workers strive to ensure that all those who have experienced traumatic event and need life-saving assistance receive it regardless of where they are in the world, their region, social group or nationality”, she added.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy National Coordinator for NADMO, Mr. Ebenezer Dodsu, the National Coordinator of NADMO, Mr. Kofi Portuphy said that since occurance of natural disasters cannot be prevented, Humanitarian aid workers will continue to make it effects less severe on vulnerable communities.
He said that Humanitarian aid workers sometimes risk their lives into difficult terrain such as conflict areas in order to bring smiles to the faces of affected people by disasters.
“It is in this vein that we see the institution of the World Humanitarian Day to give proper recognition to the sacrifices made by humanitarian and aid workers as a right move”, he stressed.
Mr. Kofi Portuphy then called on all disaster management agencies to pay a particular attention to people with special needs such as pregnant women, children, the aged as well as the physically challenged.
He added that “People in these mentioned categories are more vulnerable, and will always need our attention in all humanitarian operations”.
On December 2008, the General Assembly set aside August 19th to “increase public awareness about humanitarians, the UN associated personnel who have worked in the promotion of the humanitarian cause and those who have lost their lives in the cause of duty”.
The Day has its origin from the bombing of the United Nations Office in Iraq on 19th August 2003, in which 22 people lost their lives including the then Special Representative of Secretary General, Sergio Viera de Mello.
Madam Elizabeth Moundo said that man-made and natural disasters cause immense suffering for millions of people every year and it is often among the world’s poorest, most marginalized and vulnerable individuals.
She said that there are currently more than 27 million refugees in the world, due to man-made or natural disasters.
“One out of every six people in the world is chronically hungry. Humanitarian aid workers strive to ensure that all those who have experienced traumatic event and need life-saving assistance receive it regardless of where they are in the world, their region, social group or nationality”, she added.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy National Coordinator for NADMO, Mr. Ebenezer Dodsu, the National Coordinator of NADMO, Mr. Kofi Portuphy said that since occurance of natural disasters cannot be prevented, Humanitarian aid workers will continue to make it effects less severe on vulnerable communities.
He said that Humanitarian aid workers sometimes risk their lives into difficult terrain such as conflict areas in order to bring smiles to the faces of affected people by disasters.
“It is in this vein that we see the institution of the World Humanitarian Day to give proper recognition to the sacrifices made by humanitarian and aid workers as a right move”, he stressed.
Mr. Kofi Portuphy then called on all disaster management agencies to pay a particular attention to people with special needs such as pregnant women, children, the aged as well as the physically challenged.
He added that “People in these mentioned categories are more vulnerable, and will always need our attention in all humanitarian operations”.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
GHANA ARMED FORCES HOSTS AFRICA ENDEAVOUR 2010
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) on Monday hosted the 2010 Africa Endeavour (AE), a US-Africa Command’s Annual communication exercise that focuses on inter-operation and information sharing, in Accra.
The exercise between the US and Africa partners is to develop command, control communication tactics, techniques and procedures that can used by the African Union in support of humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and peacekeeping missions.
This exercise was under the distinguished patronage of Lt Gen. JH Smith, Minister of Defense and HE Mr. Donald Teitelbaum-US Ambassador on the theme “Uniting Africa Militaries and partners through communication and information systems interoperability”.
Participants are delegates from 34 countries and 4 other regional and sub-regional bodies from Africa. Some of the participating countries are: Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Congo Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Gambia.
Lt Gen. JH Smith, Minister of Defense in his address, elaborated on one of African Union’s objective which is to promote peace, security and stability on the continent.
He added that there will be a need for a united and collaborative front in ensuring this objective.
“As we live in an interconnected world, disasters, trans border crimes like terrorism, drugs, small arms trafficking and proliferation of small arms, know no borders”, he stated.
The Minister advised that since these acts pose major threats to global peace and security, it is necessary to form a united front with their partners and confront them decisively before they bring any destabilizing situations to them.
Lt. General JH Smith in declaring the Test exercise opened, urged the Union to be guided by the same zeal, dedication and commitment with which they had tackled all previous exercise to work towards achieving their goals of developing a workable concept to support the employment of the African Standby Force.
Addressing the gathering, Brigadier-General Joseph Searyoh, Director of Defense Communication and Information Systems of GAF, said information transcends every sphere of activity including military operation.
He added that in multi-national operation environment information is one important factor that enables unity of effort.
The Brigadier-General explained that Africa Endeavour holds the key to this all important factor of information sharing, aimed at harmonizing procedures, tactics and techniques among us.
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) on Monday hosted the 2010 Africa Endeavour (AE), a US-Africa Command’s Annual communication exercise that focuses on inter-operation and information sharing, in Accra.
The exercise between the US and Africa partners is to develop command, control communication tactics, techniques and procedures that can used by the African Union in support of humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and peacekeeping missions.
This exercise was under the distinguished patronage of Lt Gen. JH Smith, Minister of Defense and HE Mr. Donald Teitelbaum-US Ambassador on the theme “Uniting Africa Militaries and partners through communication and information systems interoperability”.
Participants are delegates from 34 countries and 4 other regional and sub-regional bodies from Africa. Some of the participating countries are: Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Congo Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Gambia.
Lt Gen. JH Smith, Minister of Defense in his address, elaborated on one of African Union’s objective which is to promote peace, security and stability on the continent.
He added that there will be a need for a united and collaborative front in ensuring this objective.
“As we live in an interconnected world, disasters, trans border crimes like terrorism, drugs, small arms trafficking and proliferation of small arms, know no borders”, he stated.
The Minister advised that since these acts pose major threats to global peace and security, it is necessary to form a united front with their partners and confront them decisively before they bring any destabilizing situations to them.
Lt. General JH Smith in declaring the Test exercise opened, urged the Union to be guided by the same zeal, dedication and commitment with which they had tackled all previous exercise to work towards achieving their goals of developing a workable concept to support the employment of the African Standby Force.
Addressing the gathering, Brigadier-General Joseph Searyoh, Director of Defense Communication and Information Systems of GAF, said information transcends every sphere of activity including military operation.
He added that in multi-national operation environment information is one important factor that enables unity of effort.
The Brigadier-General explained that Africa Endeavour holds the key to this all important factor of information sharing, aimed at harmonizing procedures, tactics and techniques among us.
GOVERNMENT URGED TO FEED PRIVATE SCHOOLS
The government has been urged to extend the school feeding programme to benefit private schools in the rural areas.
The proprietor of the Central Excellence Academy at Kasoa in the Central Region, Mr. Abubakari Mohamed, made the appeal at the school’s first graduation and fund raising ceremony on Saturday.
He said “this will promote quality education delivery in the rural areas and also unearth the talents of children in the rural schools”.
Mr Mohammed also called on non-governmental organisations to support private schools in less privileged areas by providing the children with books and chairs to facilitate easy learning.
Dr. John Ahenkorah of the Anatomy Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital,who was the guest speaker, urged parents to get involve in their children’s education by monitoring their assignments and assisting them in their choice of programmes offered in school.
He said that this will enable the children to feel a sense of belonging and learn hard to become good adults and future leaders of this country.
Dr. Ahenkorah advised parents to sacrifice their time and money to the good of their children and to make their children’s well-being the most important priority, saying “parents should not spend money on funerals and weddings but rather invest in their children’s education”.
The Chief Executive Officer of Gelma International School, at Kasoa, who chaired the function, cautioned parents to be careful of what they impart to children, noting that children keep what they acquire for a long time.
The students entertained guests with cultural exhibition, poetry recitals, and music and dance, whiles outstanding students were also awarded prizes.
The government has been urged to extend the school feeding programme to benefit private schools in the rural areas.
The proprietor of the Central Excellence Academy at Kasoa in the Central Region, Mr. Abubakari Mohamed, made the appeal at the school’s first graduation and fund raising ceremony on Saturday.
He said “this will promote quality education delivery in the rural areas and also unearth the talents of children in the rural schools”.
Mr Mohammed also called on non-governmental organisations to support private schools in less privileged areas by providing the children with books and chairs to facilitate easy learning.
Dr. John Ahenkorah of the Anatomy Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital,who was the guest speaker, urged parents to get involve in their children’s education by monitoring their assignments and assisting them in their choice of programmes offered in school.
He said that this will enable the children to feel a sense of belonging and learn hard to become good adults and future leaders of this country.
Dr. Ahenkorah advised parents to sacrifice their time and money to the good of their children and to make their children’s well-being the most important priority, saying “parents should not spend money on funerals and weddings but rather invest in their children’s education”.
The Chief Executive Officer of Gelma International School, at Kasoa, who chaired the function, cautioned parents to be careful of what they impart to children, noting that children keep what they acquire for a long time.
The students entertained guests with cultural exhibition, poetry recitals, and music and dance, whiles outstanding students were also awarded prizes.
This year’s international literacy Week celebration, has been launched in Accra under the theme, “Functional literacy-A key to job creation and poverty reduction”. The Day fell on September, 8
At the launch, Mr. Alex Tettey-Enyo, the Minister of Education said, “The Day, which is observed globally, is an occasion worth celebrating because it enables us to ponder over how far we have come in offering alternative opportunities to the non-literate youth and adult to access basic literacy as our Constitution enjoins us to do.”
The Day is also used as a platform for highlighting the achievements and challenges as well as the way forward in ensuring reduction in the illiteracy, he added.
Mr. Alex Tettey-Enyo emphasised on the need to create substantial human and financial resources to implement the National Functional Literacy Programme (NFLP) in the country.
“This is because of the positive impact it is creating in the socio-economic and political development of the country,” he added.
He explained that the targets of the NFLP are located in difficult-to-reach rural areas where all kinds of challenges prevent enrolment of children in formal schools.
Mr. Tettey-Enyo said “The nation stands to benefit from the gainful employment and increase resourcefulness of this critical mass of our population. Promoting the NFLP will assure us the accelerated development and peaceful democratic society we so much aspire”.
The Acting Director of the Non-Formal Education Division of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Charles Darlington Afare said, “Out of 23 million population of the country, almost half is unable to access basic written information that will enable them improve their life, the life of their families and that of their communities at large.”
He appealed to non-governmental organisations and donor communities to collaborate with the government to make the country’s Millennium Development Goal as well as the Education for All Goals a reality.
Mr. Darlington also urged public and private sectors to support the national literacy drive by creating an enabling environment for new-literates of the programme to function and play meaningful roles in the national development process.
At the launch, Mr. Alex Tettey-Enyo, the Minister of Education said, “The Day, which is observed globally, is an occasion worth celebrating because it enables us to ponder over how far we have come in offering alternative opportunities to the non-literate youth and adult to access basic literacy as our Constitution enjoins us to do.”
The Day is also used as a platform for highlighting the achievements and challenges as well as the way forward in ensuring reduction in the illiteracy, he added.
Mr. Alex Tettey-Enyo emphasised on the need to create substantial human and financial resources to implement the National Functional Literacy Programme (NFLP) in the country.
“This is because of the positive impact it is creating in the socio-economic and political development of the country,” he added.
He explained that the targets of the NFLP are located in difficult-to-reach rural areas where all kinds of challenges prevent enrolment of children in formal schools.
Mr. Tettey-Enyo said “The nation stands to benefit from the gainful employment and increase resourcefulness of this critical mass of our population. Promoting the NFLP will assure us the accelerated development and peaceful democratic society we so much aspire”.
The Acting Director of the Non-Formal Education Division of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Charles Darlington Afare said, “Out of 23 million population of the country, almost half is unable to access basic written information that will enable them improve their life, the life of their families and that of their communities at large.”
He appealed to non-governmental organisations and donor communities to collaborate with the government to make the country’s Millennium Development Goal as well as the Education for All Goals a reality.
Mr. Darlington also urged public and private sectors to support the national literacy drive by creating an enabling environment for new-literates of the programme to function and play meaningful roles in the national development process.
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