The Member of Parliament for Offinso South Constituency and member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, Hon. Isaac Yaw Opoku has praised Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) – an Implementing Agency under the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation for its strong operational and financial position.
Mr. Prince Ofosu Sefah, Administrator (CEO) of GIFEC, commented on the development of the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Initiative (GRT&DIP), the organization’s flagship project, highlighting its exceptional character given that it started in late 2020.
He stated that 473 of the 1,008 Rural Mobile Sites (or 50% of the 2,016 total Rural Mobile Sites intended for deployment under the Project) have been finished, are operational, and are providing voice and data services to citizens.
He gave the Committee the reassurance that all remaining Sites will be built and activated this year because plans are far advanced and efforts are being accelerated to address all technical issues.
He came to the conclusion that the machinery needed to build the remaining 500 of the 2,016 Sites is already present in the nation and is just awaiting financing for deployment, which is anticipated to happen soon.
The GRT&DIP forms part of GIFEC’s flagship Rural Telephony Programme, which is funded by the Government of Ghana (GoG), through a strategic agreement with Huawei and China National Technical Import & Export Corporation (CNTIC), funded by the China EXIM Bank to establish 2,016 Rural Telephony Sites in as many communities across the country, envisioned to provide mobile network coverage to about 3.4 million more citizens.
GIFEC supervises the implementation of this Project, working with Technical Partners, on behalf of the Government of Ghana, represented by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD). This unprecedented Project has been spearheaded by the Honourable Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, who also chairs the Board of Trustees of GIFEC, positions she has held since 2017.
