Friday, January 25, 2008

ICTs open up more avenues for development

The Principal of the Ghana Telecom University College, Dr. Osei Darkwa says the introduction of Information, and Communications Technologies, has led to the emergence of open and distance learning as a supplement to the traditional educational system. 


He said, this is helping to address the growing demand for higher and continuing education. 


Dr. Darkwa said this last night in Accra at the first Anniversary Public Lecture of the University. 
His topic was "The Changing Role of Universities in the 21st Century". 


The Principal noted that it has taken five years for ICT to reach 50 million people while, Radio has taken 32 years and television, 13 years to reach the same number of people. 

He said, this points to the fact that ICT can be harnessed for the total development of a country.  Dr Darkwa said most open universities are demonstrating that quality teaching and learning can go on without physical structures, books and presence of lecturers.

Ghana Telecom University, is now operating on electronic library, which he said has improved library service at a low cost. 


He said, issues of cost of computers, connectivity and their related challenges must be addressed if Africa is to benefit from ICTs.  The former Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Prof. Jophus Anamoah-Mensah said universities must be the centre of development and the mindset of society. 

 
He asked universities to create a learning society for continuous learning process to improve on ways of doing things.


http://gbcghana.com/news/16733detail.html



Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Tigo hits 2 million subscribers

 Millicom Ghana Limited, operators of Tigo GMS network, on Wednesday announced that its subscriber levels had crossed the two million mark from 1.2 million at the beginning of 2007. The over 800,000 increase in the number of subscribers recorded in 2007 alone, represented 66 per cent increase.

Mr. Ransford Nyarko, Marketing Manager of Tigo told journalists that the quick rise in subscriber levels was attributable to the up-to the scratch network value and quality delivered by the company over the period. "Besides everything else, we have always focused on our network to ensure that the services we offer supports the values we proclaim," he said. "We are committed to ensuring that our subscribers do not just own phones but are able to make calls any time they need to without any interruption."

He noted that products such as Extreme Value, Free Night Calls and Double your credit, which the company offered to customers in 2007, were all novelties designed to uphold the company's belief that the customer was "the king".

Mr. Nyarko assured existing and prospective Tigo subscribers of more reward and innovative products in 2008.

Ms. Patricia Obodai, Chief Technical Officer of the company noted that to ensure that subscribers were able to make calls without interruptions at any time, Tigo had added an extra 313 Base Transmitter Stations (BTS) to its 390 BTS in 2007 alone, saying that the company would add 518 BTSs in 2008.

She said the network had also been designed in a way to ensure that calls made from areas where there were faulty BTSs were re-routed through other BTS and thereby prevent call drops or congestion. "Currently we have an average of 95 per cent successful call rate and even during the peak Christmas festive period we had 99 per cent success call rate throughout," she said.

Ms. Anita Erskine, Corporate Communications Executive said regarding the Talk Tax proposed by the government, the company was still waiting for directives from the government and would be willing to follow those directives.
Source:
GNA

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Chief Justice plans 300 laptops for judiciary

The Chief Justice, Mrs. Justice Georgina Theodora Wood on Friday announced plans to provide laptop computers to the three hundred members of the judiciary within the shortest possible time.

She said the plans were in line with her vision to strengthen the capacity of the judiciary to carry out its work of administering and delivering justice more efficiently.

Mrs. Justice Georgina Wood announced this when she received thirteen laptop computers valued at GH¢14,352 from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Accra.

The Laptops are to be used by the thirteen Justices of the Supreme Court as part of the Judicial Service's Automation Programme to enhance efficiency and the quick delivery of justice.

She commended the UNDP for their timely support, which she said, would go a long way to assist the justices in the efficient discharge of their duties.

She said in this modern era where the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal rely more on written advocacy than oral arguments, courtroom hearings are no longer really time consuming or tasking.

She said the real task of judges commences after court hearings, studying the court record and doing the necessary research that judges must begin to translate into their judgments.

Mr Shigheki Komatsubara, Deputy UNDP Representative in Ghana who made the presentation said the Judicial Service (JS) had a constitutional responsibility of interpreting the law and protecting the rights of citizens.

He said however, the realization of this mandate is challenged by capacity constraints that the service faces resulting notably in congestion in the courts and its associated delays and access to legal remedies.

He said in line with the GPRS II and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework agreed upon with the Government of Ghana, the UNDP through its Country Programme Action Plan had supported the Judicial Service, Ministry of Justice and Office of the Attorney General, Legal Aid Scheme, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and Civil Society Organizations to ensure effective delivery of justice and the upholding of the rule of law in Ghana.