The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has affirmed the commitment of Government of Ghana to bridging the Digital Divide at a Ministerial Roundtable Session, which precedes the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-22) in Bucharest, Romania.
The session which was aimed at providing an opportunity for high-level reflections and constructive exchange of views and institutional experiences from high-level representatives of various countries, was on the theme “Building Better Digital Future”.
According to the Minister, Ghana is facilitating the expansion of digital infrastructure to open up broadband access to accelerate the provision of meaningful content and smart services to benefit all citizens.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful emphasised the critical importance of building robust cybersecurity systems and networks all around.
“Building confidence, trust, and security of our cyberspace to promote a safe digital /ICT ecosystem has been our major priority. We have ensured that guided by the guidelines provided by the ITU and other global cooperation networks, we work with our neighbours to build a Regional cyber space that is resilient to attacks”, she added.
The Minister, who is currently in Bucharest representing Ghana at the PP-22, also highlighted some of Government’s initiatives that have been undertaken to ensure digital inclusiveness over the years.
Some of these included inculcating basic digital literacy in Ghana’s educational curricula, encouraging women and girls to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, and community-based digital laboratories.
These, she explained were priority areas for Ghana as the Government believes that digital skills development is the cornerstone of digital transformation.
The Plenipotentiary Conference (PP) is ITU’s highest policy-making body which meets once every four years to set the Union’s general policies, adopt the four-year strategic and financial plans, as well as elect the senior management team of the organization, the Member States of the Council, and the members of the Radio Regulations Board.
This year’s conference dubbed PP-22 will be held in Bucharest, Romania, from 26 September to 14 October, 2022.
Apart from Ghana seeking re-election to the ITU Council for the 2023 to 2026 term, the country is also presenting Mr. Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko for election to the Radio Regulations Board (RRB).
