Ursula Owusu-Ekuful with Joe Anokye, NCA boss interacting with other delegates at the conference as the Chief Director of the Communications standing left behind her looks on
Minister for Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has started a campaign aimed at ensuring the re-election of Ghana to the council of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful made this known when she delivered an address at the Plenipotentiary Conference of the ITU in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Plenipotentiary Conference is the highest decision-making body of ITU, the United Nations (UN) specialized agency for ICTs.
Held every four years, the Conference is the vital event at which ITU member states build consensus on key international ICT issues, elect leaders for the Union and decide on a roadmap for ITU’s work over the next four-year period, including strategic and financial plans.
According to the statement, the minister called for support from ITU delegates for the re-election of Ghana onto the Council.
She informed delegates that Ghana is an active member of the ITU and the Council and fully committed to the decisions of the 2018 Session of Council.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful reiterated Ghana’s commitment to supporting ITU’s strategic plan and was hopeful increased partnerships and investment would help to bridge the digital divide.
She told the delegates during the conference that the President Akufo-Addo’s Government was pursuing the Digital Ghana Agenda for a massive transformation of country’s economy through technology and broadband development, stressing that the President, who is the Co-Chair of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocacy Group, is an advocate for the utilisation of the technology to realise all the SDGs.
The Minister observed that Ghana was working actively towards improving service delivery with particular focus on rural and underserved communities, women and gender parity and opportunities for the youth.
She enumerated the various ICT initiatives which the government had implemented since 2017.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said to encourage the adoption of these ICT initiatives and protect users, the government was also committed to promoting safe Cyber hygiene practices with the establishment of a National Cyber Security Secretariat and an equally strong focus on Child Online Protection.”
Other delegations also delivered statements to express their countries’ achievements in ICT.
The Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, joined the ITU Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao in welcoming international delegates for three-week intensive decision-making on the future of global ICT.
By Melvin Tarlue