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Ursula Owusu-Ekuful inaugurates ICT laboratory for Sefwi Wiawso SHS
The Minister of Communications and Digitilisation,Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful,has inaugurated a fully-furnished Information and Communication Technology (ICT) laboratory for the Sefwi-Wiawso Senior High School in the Western North Region.
The laboratory, which has 40 new desktop computers with accessories, was funded by the Ghana Investment for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) and would provide ICT opportunities to schools, as part of the efforts to bridge digital gap in the country.
In her address last Friday, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful expressed government’s commitment to equip young people with skills they needed to succeed in life.
She noted that the current technological revolution emphasised the critical role technology played in the digital world, hence the need for everybody to be ICT literate.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful commended Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, the Member of Parliament for Sefwi Wiawso and other prominent indigenes, for the role they played to make the project a reality.
She again advised the students to use the laboratory profitably, especially for research and be abreast current technological advancements.
“The government is committed to provide students with the right skills, devices and training to compete favourably with their peers in other countries.” the minister assured.
The Administrator of GIFEC,MrPrince Ofosu Sefah, spoke about the significant role of ICT in development and commended President Nana Akufo-Addo for ensuring that school children acquired the relevant skills to make them functional in the society
GIFEC,he added, was facilitating teaching and learning of ICT in Basic and Senior High Schools through the deployment of ICT equipment and internet facilities.
“We are doing this with the school connectivity project, through which desktops, printers and scanners are being provided for over 1,020 schools across the country.” he said.
Mr Sefah said 26 Basic and Senior High schools had benefited from the project in the Western North Region while more than 7,000 people, including teachers, students, artisans, head porters and identifiable women groups had also been trained in basic ICT skills in the region.
The Assistant Headmaster of the school,Mr Benjamin Ballow, reported that the school offered ICT as an elective subject and believedthe ICT facility would help in teaching and learning.
He called on other organisations to assist the school which was established in 1961 and now had a student population of 1,877, with 79 teaching and 39 non-teaching staff.
Mr Balloe expressed gratitude to the government and prayed it continued to assist the school to cater for the increasing enrolment due to the Free Senior High School Policy.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful had inspected works on the Government of Ghana Funded Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project, at Abrabra and Nkyonya, as part of her tour of GIFEC project sites in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality of the Western North Region.
She inaugurated a Rural Telephony Project site at Mile 3, in the same district.
The Rural Telephony Project is implemented by GIFEC in partnership with Huawei and Mobile Network Operators ((MNOs) through a Tripartite Partnership Arrangement, which offers a significant reduction in Cost of Ownership and Maintenance by as much as 70 per cent.
The project seeks to provide telecommunications infrastructure and service to communities where MNOs are unable to deploy due to economic or other constraints.
During a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief Of Sefwi Wiawso Okatakyie Kwesi Bumagama II, the minister indicated that her tourof Western North, was to get a first- hand information on the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion project and visit also the training centres of the Girls-in-ICT project.
The Girls in ICT programme, she mentioned, had benefitted 900 girls in the region and 100 from Prestea- Huni Valley in the Western Region.
She said : “The ministry aims at expanding the rural telephony project to the various underserved communities.We will ensure that rural areas without networks are connected. Without network, one cannot takepart in the digital activities.”
Accompanying the Minister were the Chief Director, Mrs. Magdalene Apenteng, Director, Research Statistics and Information Management (RSIM), Mr. Alfred Nortey; Mr Prince Sefa, Administrator, GIFEC; Ms Eva Andoh-Opoku, Deputy Administrator, GIFEC and the Municipal Chief Executive of Sefwi Wiawso , Hon. Lewis Owusu Agyapong.
From Clement Adze Boye, Sefwi Wiawso
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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