Former President John Mahama
How did we ever let Mahama to slip away? Part One
When it comes to the legacies of former President Mahama, what easily come to mind are the schools, roads, healthcare, water systems, energy and others, but there are some fantastic work he did in his effort to digitise Ghana which many people don't know.
In this regard, I'm
Read full articlegoing to serialise an article, "President Mahama's Massive Investment in digitalizing Ghana" written on September 7, 2020, by Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, former Minister of Information, and Dr. George Atta-Boateng, former Director-General of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA).
Digitization of Ghana’s Economy
Former President John Dramani Mahama’s understanding of a digital economy is outstanding and puts him far ahead of his closest competitor in the 2020 Presidential election. His understanding found expression in his Government’s implementation of ICT programmes and projects most of which have lived beyond his term of office and continue to accelerate the development of Ghana.
Mr. Mahama believes in the spread, integration and utilization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to automate public and private sector operations, enhance Ghana’s economic competiveness with the rest of the world and improve upon living standards of Ghanaians. For him, every aspect of a digital economy lies at the heart of these two main components:
• Digital (ICT) Infrastructure.
• Digital (ICT) Applications.
And he worked very hard to deploy both massive digital infrastructure and its applications. These digital interventions have made life more convenient for millions of Ghanaians and enabled critical services to be extended to the needy in remote and underserved communities. They have also accounted for the increase in productivity and improvement of the working environment of workers in both the public and private sectors.
Digital Infrastructure
To begin with, Digital Infrastructure is the foundation of every digital economy, therefore, during his tenure, President Mahama built the most robust and efficient infrastructure in the country since independence. This was to meet our digital transformational goals and objectives. Indeed, given four more years in office, based on his solid digital infrastructure, he would have built a new and modernised ICT compliant Ghana.
His legacy of robust digital infrastructure includes but not limited to:
• About 1000km of Rural Fiber Network from Accra to Bawku which connects six regions in the country; namely: Greater Accra, Volta, Oti, Northern, North East and Upper East regions. This provides the internet and voice call needs of millions of Ghanaians and thousands of businesses along that route. Furthermore, at no additional cost to the State, this fiber network was also extended to the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) to facilitate research, teaching and learning.
• A 300km radius Metro Fiber Network within Accra and Tema, with the capacity to offer Wi-Fi and other ICT services to millions of Ghanaians and businesses within the enclave was also deployed.
• An LTE/4G network with over 119 base stations across the length and breadth of Ghana, to provide internet services and network backbone support to all Government agencies (Ministries, Departments, Districts, etc.) was also rolled out. Indeed, the LTE/4G driven GOTA phones is the terminal equipment for these 119 base stations which the Mahama administration rolled out.
• The GOTA phones have been used by many security, civil and public servants; and has even been applied towards the innovative attempts to reduce maternal mortality in the Greater Accra Region.
Regional Distribution of the LTE/4G Sites
Greater Accra 26
Ashanti 23
Northern 5
Upper East 5
Upper West 4
Brong Ahafo 9
Western 13
Central 14
Eastern 11
Volta 9
Total 119
• The biggest Tier-3 600-Rackspace Data Center in West Africa located in Accra, with a 45 Rackspace back-up on the campus of KNUST, Kumasi is another legacy of President Mahama. This data centre is ensuring data storage (documents, videos, audios, biometric, etc.), web hosting and serving the cyber security needs of the country. It also protects and preserves the sanctity of the data of every Ghanaian.
• The imposing and impressive headquarters building of the National Communication Authority to promote efficient regulation of telecommunication services in the country, especially with the monitoring of the quality of voice calls and internet services offered to millions of Ghanaians by Telecommunication companies is one such achievement of the Mahama administration.
• The development of the Accra Digital Center intended to provide about ten thousand (10, 000) jobs to the youth at full capacity. Today, it serves as the incubation hub for established businesses and start-ups, a preferred professional examination location, as well as an online passport application center. Thanks to President Mahama, this digital center serves thousands of Ghanaians everyday regardless of their location
With these, how did we ever let Mahama to slip away? This lyrics of Johnny Cash is something to ponder on:
I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real.
I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair.
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I'm still right here
If I could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
I wish Ghanaians could travel backwards in time, into the past to correct the wrongs of old, but the painful truth is that we all make mistakes sometimes and have to live with the consequences, and that's what we are experiencing as a people.
Johnny Cash says if he could start all over again even a million miles away, he would find a way.
Yes, there is a way, inspite of the hurt and pain! And the people of Ghana can find it on December 7, 2024.
To be continued
