All the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) that have restored 100% internet capacity, are still relying on the cables that were not impacted by the disruptions, the National Communications Authority (NCA), has said.

The NCA says the four subsea cable landing service providers – ACE, MainOne, SAT-3 and WACS, that were hit, are still down.

Addressing the press on Sunday, March 24, the Director General of the NCA, Mr Joe Anokye said ” AitrelTigo has been a 100% capacity since the recent  incident, Telecel has been at 100 % capacity as of Tuesday 19th March 2024, and MTN has recovered  100 % capacity for peak  time traffic as of Thursday  21st March  2024,”

“They are all riding on the sub-cable or the cable providers in the West Coast that were not impacted by the outage, that is what is happening,” he said.

The Authority earlier held a face-to-face meeting with all four (4) subsea cable landing service providers and the three mobile network operators (AT, MTN and Telecel).

The meeting was attended by the top management of the above providers and operators to receive updates and to discuss the way forward.

The NCA said the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and subsea cable landing service providers continue to work with their international partners in the sub-region to progressively add more capacity for data services as it becomes available.

“The subsea cable landing service providers have remotely identified the approximate locations of the damage and have made preparations to dispatch repair vessels to the location for physical assessment and restoration.

“Based on the above, the subsea cable landing service providers have indicated an estimated time frame of a minimum of five (5) weeks for full service restoration from the time the vessels are dispatched to the various locations.

“The NCA recognizes the impact the disruptions have had on economic, academic and social activities and assures the public of its commitment to continue collaborating with relevant stakeholders. We expect some improvement in data services in the coming days while the operators work around the clock to restore full connectivity.

“The NCA encourages MNOs, Internet Service Providers, and all other providers to actively participate in the operations of the Ghana Internet Exchange (GIX) in order to ensure an efficient local content delivery and a seamless Internet traffic exchange locally.”

Minister of Communications and Digitisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, says the government is building the pillars to make Ghana the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Hub for West Africa.

“We have implemented some fundamental digital initiatives to serve as the building blocks on which to propel sustainable growth in the digital economy we are building.”

“Initiatives such as the Mobile Money Interoperability platform, the Paperless Port system, National Identity Register, and Digital Property Addressing system have brought relief to our citizens and have propel the country’s digital agenda,” she said.

The Minister made these remarks during the opening of the 12th Information and Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D) event in Accra.

The global event organised by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and being hosted in Ghana for the second time, brought together over 600 experts in the ICT space to deliberate on ways to harness digitisation and technology for development.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said Ghana had joined the 4th Industrial Revolution to ensure that the country took advantage of the opportunities it offered to transform the economy and provide a firm foundation for growth.

She stressed that digitisation was necessary for development in the 21st century, saying, there cannot be development without the pursuit of digitisation in these times.

“We commenced our digital journey in 2017 with the Digital Ghana Agenda, a vision to leverage technology to deliver public services, promote transparency, efficiency, and easy access to all citizens irrespective of location,” she said.

Mr Daniel Mumuni, Country Representative of the CRS, commended the Government for its digitisation agenda to improve accessibility and productivity.

He said the Conference would explore how ICT and data innovations were making a measurable difference in millions of peoples’ lives and increasing the impact of humanitarian relief, development, and conservation programmes.

“We hope to also advance global knowledge exchange and build capacity on digital development to drive more impactful use of technology for good.”

“We are excited to be hosting this conference in Accra where over 700 people have gathered from different countries to the country,” he added.

Founded in 2010, the ICT4D Conference has grown each year to become an internationally recognized high-profile platform for NGOs, community-based organizations, private sector companies, governmental and multi-lateral agencies, investors, donors, academic and research institutions to exchange experiences in using digital technologies and learn from each other.

The declining labour force is a serious threat to Ghana’s cocoa industry, which was once the pride and foundation of the country’s economy.

The youth no longer find cocoa growing as appealing, despite its historical significance. There are several intricate challenges that need to be addressed immediately.

Results of SEND Ghana’s research on gender responsiveness Ghana has illuminated this matter, exposing a depressing lack of enthusiasm for cocoa growing among the younger generation.

An important hurdle that keeps young farmers from entering this important sector of the economy is the use of traditional farming methods, which are ingrained in generational norms as well as inadequate inputs.

The Senior Programme Manager for SEND Ghana, Harriet Nuamah Agyemang highlights how urgently the cocoa business needs to innovate and modernise in order to give young farmers access to modern farming methods and technologies.

She added that “Farming itself is not attractive to young people these days because we are still using our local implements. Farming is still rudimentary for most people and people don’t want to exert so much energy these days into farming.”

Mrs Agyemang further explained that “Young people think that whatever is due them should be paid and then they would go and procure their inputs for their farms, rather than being given inputs that are inadequate but at the end of the day, the cost of those inputs are being deducted from the money they are given for their beans.”

Amidst these urgent worries, groups such as SEND Ghana are raising the alarm and pressuring decision-makers and business stakeholders to tackle the fundamental problems confronting the cocoa industry.