Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister-designate for Communications, on Wednesday assured Ghanaians that the Government would leverage on technology to assist in crime prevention.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful was addressing a question regarding how the Ministry would utilise closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras to ensure security in the country when she appeared before Parliament’s Appointments Committee for vetting.
The nominee said though she had not received a full briefing on places where such security cameras would be needed, she would liaise with the National Security in maintaining security in the country.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, the Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West in the Greater Accra Region, urged telecommunication companies (telcos) to engage communities over the siting of telecommunication masts in order to enjoy their co-operation.
She noted that public engagements with the host communities to educate them on the safety of the telecommunication infrastructure would expel any public fears of the harm the facility could cause, saying; ‘‘there is public perception that the mast causes diseases’’.
According to her, telecommunication providers needed the necessary infrastructure in order to provide quality services to their clients.
She said although there was a moratorium on the construction of new masts, the Communication Ministry would work with the telcos to minimise any danger that the facilities might pose to the people when approved by the Committee.
Touching on measures the Ministry would undertake to ensure the implementation of the Affirmative Action Policy, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said working for the rights of the marginalised and the less-privileged had been her passion, and would, therefore, always advocate for their well-being.
Explaining how she would use e-governance programme to improve lives, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said information and communication technology was important in making living easier and thus gave the assurance that the Ministry would scale up the e-governance process.
She said by September, this year, e-parliament would be implemented to improve governance in the country, adding; ‘‘with e-health, for example, anybody could sit in the comfort of his/her house to access health services across the country without going to the place’’.
She said some work was ongoing at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology on e-governance and said when the programme was fully implemented and utilised, people could easily register their businesses at the Registrar-General’s Department without necessarily going there in person.
She gave the assurance of her full support to the e-governance secretariat in implementing the programme so that the financial support offered by the World Bank to the project would not go to waste.
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