Use ICT for participatory governance — Lecturer
The Director of Student Affairs at the African University College of Communication, Mr Ogochuku Nweke, has observed that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be used to deepen participatory democracy in Ghana to enhance business activities.
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He said many people with ICT backgrounds could communicate with their Members of Parliament (MP), ministers and other government appointees, and make their concerns known to them, noting that the exchange of communication was no longer a barrier.
Mr Nweke, who was delivering a lecture in Tamale last Thursday to mark the fifth anniversary celebration of Savana Signatures, said ICT tools, especially mobile phone devices, must be constructively utilised by the youth for development.
The anniversary was being celebrated under the theme: “Development through ICT, the Role of the Youth.”
Savana Signatures is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) focusing on ICT for development, and operates in the Northern and Volta regions.
Mr Nweke said ICT contributed significantly to make the 2012 election free and fair, and suggested its usage in subsequent elections, adding, “The 1992 Constitution of Ghana must be reviewed to make it ICT-friendly”.
He urged business entities and the youth to take advantage of the sprawling opportunities on social media, to advertise and market their products and services, noting that such platforms could be used by many individuals and companies at cheaper costs.
Potentials of ICT
Mr Nweke indicated that the potentials of ICT had not been fully utilised in the country, and suggested that farmers could use mobile phones to improve agriculture, explaining that its use could transform agricultural productivity.
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The Executive Director of Savana Signatures, Mr John Stephen Agbenyo, said the organisation started on a humble beginning, which was then called Northern Information Network for Schools, but later registered as an NGO in 2009 with the current name.
He said the mission of the NGO was to equip the youth, women and the vulnerable groups with ICT skills for personal and professional use, stressing that it worked in four thematic areas, including education, gender and sexual reproduction rights.
Mr Agbenyo said it had trained many teachers, formed ICT clubs and clinics, established ICT laboratories in some basic schools, and introduced ICT in educational pedagogy, and expressed the hope that better developments were underway to assist many schools and individuals with ICT skills.
The Central Gonja Director of Education, Alhaji Adam Yakubu Mohammed Baba, expressed worry that despite the introduction of ICT as an examinable subject at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), some pupils in his district still wrote the examinations abstractly because they had not seen a computer before.
He urged the government to expand ICT to rural communities, and said the situation where pupils continued to write BECE without seeing a computer was very unfortunate. GNA