| Ghana is set to build a national e-governance infrastructure after partnering with Huawei Technologies, a leading global information and communications company based in China. The project is designed to link all government institutions electronically, and bring affordable broadband access to the farthest corners of Ghana. The government hopes to build a sustainable nationwide Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure to bridge the technology gap that divides the country.
The three-phase, five-year project is being funded by a $30-million concessionary loan made by the Chinese Government in November 2008. Meeting with Huawei officials after a visit to China, then Vice President John Mahama, the current President of Ghana, said that Ghana's government is committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers by providing competitive conditions that will allow investments to thrive.
Promoting efficiency
William Tevie, Director General of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), the body responsible for the e-governance project, has lauded the project.
"Government business will become more paperless, transparent and efficient," said Tevie.
The major benefits of the project, according to the authorities, will take effect within the next two to three years when government operations are expected to change significantly. This change will include the launch of a wide-range of applications creating services that are being branded as e-Parliament, e-Justice, e-Executive, e-Immigration, e-Health and e-Education. These applications will be used in all 170 districts in Ghana in as many government departments as possible.
NITA was established in 2008 by a parliamentary act making it the government body responsible for ICT project implementation. Since its inception, NITA has built a foundation for ICT infrastructure, working with a $40-million World Bank loan, a $150-million Chinese EXIM Bank loan and another nearly $50-million concessionary loan from the Danish Government.
NITA uses the government's 30-percent stake in Vodafone to access part of the National Fiber Optic Backbone, which is owned by Vodafone. This access has allowed NITA to build a multi-layer switch and WIMAX network to connect all MDAs (ministries, departments and agencies) at the national and regional levels as part of the first phase of the e-government project.
The network, according to Tevie, is designed to reach districts and remote communities via several different means, including direct fiber-optic connections, high capacity microwave links.
This, according to the NITA head, would enable the network to connect not just district and municipal assemblies, but also hospitals, schools, police stations, post offices, agriculture extension service offices and any other public offices or institutions in towns that are covered by the network.
"We have earmarked 7,000 to 9,000 online portals for each of the 170 districts to ensure that in each district all the institutions like schools, police stations and others will have their own online portals by which they can interact with other institutions, and through which citizens can also interact with those institutions," said Tevie.
NITA, using Huawei technology, has built 29 interconnected base stations across the country, a 10 gigabyte/sec connection linking all MDAs in Accra, and three 4-gigabyte/sec sub-connections linking these MDAs to all 10 regional offices.
Tevie said a new data center has also been established in the president's office.
"We have also established 10 online portals for selected government agencies on a pilot basis. The institutions include the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Food and Drugs Board, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, the Ghana Tourist Board and others, and we are in the process of establishing an additional 100 online portals for other agencies to enable them to provide services online and have access to their data online in real time," said Tevie.
He said e-policing is also in the pipeline, but Ghana has yet to develop relevant applications for the police, and needs to install about 3,000 street cameras in Accra alone to cover all streets and capture lawlessness in real time.
Technology giant
Meanwhile, going forward, 120 new wireless stations will be provided by Huawei. Founded in 1987, Huawei has grown into a global company with a sales volume of over $20 billion and a business presence in over 140 countries. In Africa, it is the largest electronic IT solutions provider, overtaking other brands in the last decade.
Parliament has given Huawei a $43-million tax exemption to enable it to execute the country's $127.5-million E-Government Platform Project.
Local area networks (LANs) in all the ministries in Accra will be upgraded and equipped under this project, and several new LANs will be established in various regional and district assemblies and MDAs. A total of 6,300 LAN ports will be created at various sites to support both voice and data access to the network.
Huawei, which is responsible for the first phase of the project, has already donated and installed tele-presence equipment, including 55-inch ultra-slim LCD screens, at the Castle, Flag Staff House and six government regional offices.
Bright Garti, a business student at the University of Ghana in Accra, has lauded the initiative. According to him, when the project is completed, it will make business activities easier, both on the local and at the international level.
"Take for instance, the congestion at our ports. It's because most of the work there is paper work. With e-governance, port congestion will be drastically reduced," he said.
Garti also said that the project will help in teaching and also in facilitating research at the university.
Ghana's Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrisu, told ChinAfrica that the project stands to benefit Ghanaians most because all government activities both at the local and national levels will be faster and more accessible. He pointed to the specific example of the justice system, saying that it is very important for the smooth running of the country, and that the e-governance project will help the courts to dispense justice swiftly and judiciously.
(Reporting from Kenya)
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