The tour was to commend them for their professionalism and dedication to hard work, access their working conditions, the challenges they face and how to collectively strategize to have them resolved.
Addressing senior management and staff at the various institutions, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful indicated that the Sector together with its agencies has the responsibility to pursue policies and innovative programmes as part of its mandate to the country’s digital transformation and the development of telecommunications.
She also stressed that it was important for the agencies to explore other new avenues for opportunities in order to attract funds and resources for their projects, hence, more collaborations and stakeholder engagement should be deepened going forward.
The Minister encouraged Management and Staff of the various agencies to utilise the smart workplace to enhance efficiency and productivity at work. She further advised them to re-orient their mind set and open themselves to new opportunities.
Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful revealed that she was very proud of what the agencies had achieved over the years, noting, that there was room to do more even in these challenging times with limited resources.
“We have also been called upon to fractionalize our expenditure and focus on only essentials and cut down on cost. We will look at ways within which we can cut down on discretionary expenditure that’s part of the conversation that I’m going to be having with you all so if you all have ideas about innovative ways of working that is going to maximize our resources, we will be interested to hear that, and so I’m looking forward to an engaging year of increased activities for us” she stated.
She proposed to agency Heads to introduce new programs and scale up existing services such as access to internet connectivity, cyber labs, Girls-in-ICT, Capacity building trainings to all part of the country to help bridge the digital gap and increase youth employment for national development.
She said as the rest of the world evolves towards the fourth industrial revolution, “we also need to start thinking about transitioning into 5G network, because we can’t remain in the past and with 4G network forever”.
This she said would enable the country to resolve many of the challenges being faced currently.
The Minister is also scheduled to visit the under listed agencies:
1. Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMET)
2. Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence
in ICT (AITI-KACE)
3. Data Protection Commission (DPC)
4. Ghana Post Limited (GPL)
5. National Cyber Security Authority (NCSA)