Huawei inaugurates office complex in Accra

Huawei Technologies Company Limited has inaugurated an office complex in Accra to serve as its  headquarters. The Vice-President, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, who inaugurated the structure, stated that the headquarters was a further expression of the deepening relations between China and Ghana.

Alluding to the cooperation between the two countries, he mentioned the deployment of fibre-optic broadband infrastructure across the country with the assistance of the Chinese government which had allowed the promotion of ICT in various sectors.

 Mr Amissah-Arthur said Huawei had contributed to an interactive e-Government system linking the Office of the President to the various ministries, departments and agencies including  regional coordinating councils through the deployment of tele-presence equipment and technology.

ICT development

The company, he added, had been a good corporate entity promoting ICT development in Ghana and the chance for many Ghanaians to explore the possibilities in ICT.

“But we have to do more. We need to modernise the country’s underdeveloped telecommunications infrastructure,” the Vice-President added.

While thanking China and Huawei for supporting ICT projects in deprived communities and the donation of ICT laboratories to some public universities, he held the view that the revolution of ICT presented an opportunity to harness its diverse innovations to accelerate Ghana’s development agenda.

Mr Amissah-Arthur expressed the conviction that until the capability of the youth in ICT was adequately developed, the many opportunities and advancements that came with it would come to naught, hence the government’s support for the roll out of ICT infrastructure in schools.

The front view of the new Huawei head office 

Social media

The Vice-President indicated that the use of social media was critical to advancing the cause of society or destroying it.

He pointed out that while social media came with many benefits, it could also be a destructive tool when misused.

“Social media can make people anti-social and we have to guard against this because ICT has assumed great importance in driving economies,” he stated.

Statement of intent

A Deputy Minister of Communications, Mr Felix Kwakye-Ofosu, described the inauguration of the building as a statement of intent by Huawei and an indication of the government’s vision to develop the telecom sector.

He added that the initiative by Huawei was a pointer to Ghana’s continued attraction to foreign investment in the ICT sector and expressed the hope that the citizenry would reap the benefits as a result of the cooperation between Ghana and China.

The Board Chairman of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Mr Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, underscored the importance of ICT to development and lauded Huawei for the strides it had made in the ICT sector.

The Deputy Chairman and Rotating Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Technologies Limited, Mr Guo Ping, and the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Sun Baohong, in separate addresses, pledged Chinese support for advancing Ghana’s ICT industry.