Undoubtedly, government’s commitment to digitasing the Ghanaian economy has come to stay if the speed with which the digitalization drive is taking shape is anything to go by.
As stipulated by the World Bank, the concept of digital government represents a fundamental shift in the way government around the world are embracing their mission.
The World Bank agrees that it will not be possible to provide the contextual services without data being open and interoperable but, do we have this fully integrated in Ghana today?
Christmas is already here and whether “something dey or nothing dey” we must make merry and enjoy the birth of the Saviour of the world in a more digitised environment but are the telcos giving us the best of services we truly desire to celebrate Christmas?
Some activities of the Telecommunication Network Providers in Ghana are gradually becoming a major cause of concerned to many Ghanaian subscribers especially during yuletide.
Some of the worrisome activities include poor general network service, pitiable internet service among others which are needed to make their services to the subscribers complete and give them value for their money.
Unfortunately, subscribers are increasingly becoming vulnerable as the Network Providers appear to have a field day and mostly pay little to no attention at all to the complaints of their subscribers.
For instance, in the course of the week, many subscribers have gone through thick and thin situations in their quest to transfer or receive funds through electronic means, buy airtime or data bundles.
These situations do occur frequently but state institutions such as the Ministry of Communication and the National Communication Authority which are constitutionally clothed with powers to intercede for the crying public, have mostly failed to be responsive.
In fact, their seeming silence, actions and inactions as far as the poor services provided by the operators are concerned, mostly leave a lot to be desired especially when the officers of the aforementioned institutions are often victims of the same poor services.
For instance, the ministry of communication forced every subscriber to register their sim cards with only their Ghana Cards and mandated the NCA and the Service Providers to deactivate Subsciber Identification Modules that were not registered with Ghana Cards.
Many Ghanaians welcomed the initiative because we were told that it was going to be an end to SIM related fraud and crimes which kept rising but unfortunately, many unsuspecting subscribers continue to get duped through same old process by unscrupulous gangs.
This situation makes the whole cumbersome process almost all Ghanaians endured to get their SIM Cards re-registered counterproductive because the SIM associated frauds are still prevalent.
On top of the poor general network experience and frequently interrupted internet services, is high rate of data charges which are mostly reviewed upwards by the service providers to the detriment of the subscribers.
Meanwhile, many Ghanaians have bought into the idea of digitization which has led to increase in the use of electronic transactions including banking, commerce among others to include the purchase of school forms and registrations are currently done online through internet network.
Government’s decision to go paperless at the ports have all come to stay as a means to prioritise a digitalised economy as done elsewhere but their challenges as a result of poor network are also there for all to witness.
To this end, any form of impediment or anomaly that affects the quality of mobile network must be viewed as a serious threat to the much trumpeted digitisation drive which has gained grounds in the country.
The digital space is becoming one of the fastest growing arena where a lot of people are focusing attention now and making life happen as many now work as digital content producers, marketers and influencers among others.
In Ghana today, digital platforms allow businesses to thrive quickly through online trading and introduced new perspectives to business where a lot of opportunities have been created for many youths.
Of course the space creates employment, entertainment, education and information to a wide range of audience and has definitely come to stay but it success, however, hinges on sustainable telecommunication network.
We cannot claim to be going digital in all spheres of our endeavours when we do not have stable telecommunication network which is at the centre of the digitasation drive and serves as the fulcrum around which digitalization revolves.
The government of Ghana through the ministry of communication must be highly interested in these pressing issues which are hanging around the necks of many subscribers and quickly intervene as a matter of urgency.
The communication ministry must as a matter of necessity, put together policy documents that would bind the service providers to provide high quality and uninterrupted services to all subscribers as done elsewhere.
The document must go through parliament to become a law with its penalties clearly stated so that telecommunication companies would resolve all their technical networking challenges that affects customers without excuses.
Additionally, any law that would make it compulsory for the service providers to be more responsible for any poor services and heavily charged for same would streamline all activities in the telecommunication space for subscribers to receive the best of services.
As long as Ghana continues to be part of the global world today, we must scale things up with strong mobile telecommunication network to enhance businesses to bolster the economy.
God bless Ghana, God bless us all.
By Nana Kweku Ofori Atta