ICT: GOLD MINE OF THE MIND

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

Daily Graphic September 2, 2004

There is this interesting Ghanaian proverb, which says:  "If your friend is more handsome than you are, you must admit it and praise him."

In this article, I shall attempt to find out why Ghana is naturally rich but economically poor; and why Singapore is naturally poor but economically rich. It seems to me that there is a missing link somewhere.

Perhaps, my arguments or analyses may sound rather simplistic. The reason is that I am neither an economist nor an Information Communications Technology (ICT) expert.

But as a Ghanaian journalist who has lived all his life in Ghana with a brief stay in Singapore, it should not be out of place to put my observations on paper for the experts to pass their judgment.

In the first place, it is important to underscore the fact that both Ghana and Singapore had been colonised by Britain. Ghana obtained her independence in 1957; Singapore in 1960. Ghana has a land area of 238,540sq km;

Singapore is an Island of 697 .1sq km. Ghana has a population of 20 million; Singapore about five million.

Ghana's literacy rate is about 74.8 per cent; Singapore's is 94.2 per cent. Ghana is endowed with natural mineral resources such as gold, diamond, bauxite, timber, etc. Singapore has none of them at all. Ghana's GDP per head is about $1,400; Singapore's is $22,033 (2003).

Ghana has arable land capable of producing any food crops under the sun all year round, but most Ghanaians can hardly afford three square meals a day; Singapore has no land at all for food cultivation. As a matter of fact, they are compelled to plant tomatoes in the air. Yet Singaporeans eat eight times a day.

In Singapore, there is nothing like “breakfast”  “lunch”, “supper/dinner”.  The food is there; so anytime at all that you feel like eating, you go and eat. Period. Their equivalent of restaurants or canteens or chop bars in Ghana is known as Food Centres or Food Junctions. These Food Centres and Food Junctions abound in all shopping centres and street corners. And food is very, very cheap, too, my brother!

The question is: Why is Ghana so rich but so poor? Not only is Ghana poor, but a Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC). Why and why again? My layman’s answer to this question is that, something basic is missing in Ghana’s economic strategy. And that which is missing in my simplistic opinion is ICT, which is the gold mine of the mind.

If Ghana has the physical gold sitting in the belly of her earth but cannot develop the technology, which is sleeping in the minds of her citizens, the gold will be there and the people will starve to death.

The 21st Century economy is a knowledge-based one. It depends more on creativity and creation, acquisition, distribution and the use of knowledge.

The acquisition of what is now referred to as intangible capital such as ideas, information, skills and competencies in the field of ICT is more important than having diamond growing bigger and bigger under the ground without your knowledge.

In fact, you even need the technological knowledge to determine that you have crude oil flowing under your sea. This is where Singapore has beaten Ghana. Shifting emphasis from material capital to human capital. Develop the minds of the people and the nation shall develop.        

The type of education Singapore is giving her citizens to exploit the gold of the mind.  For instance, in Singapore, engineers, technologists, scientists, nurses, and all types of professionals who are making the economy of that country buoyant are being trained in the polytechnics. What is the situation in Ghana?

About 25 years ago, the leadership of Singapore took note of the trends of global economy and paused for self- examination. They posed the following questions to themselves: "Singapore has no natural resources what so ever; it depends entirely on other nations for its livelihood through importations. ’What will happen to us if there is a war one day and our development partners decide to block our imports?' "What must we do to become economically self-dependent?"

Apparently, it was this 'paradoxical situation that prompted Singapore to adopt ICT as the best solution to their- survival. A senior lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic in that country, who spoke to this writer in 'an exclusive interview in July this year, stated that the Singapore  authorities after their critical self-examination, resolved .to invest in their people as the only resources available for national development and prosperity.

Thanks to Information Communications Technology, Singapore is, now ahead of most Assian Tigers in digital economy. In fact some, so called advanced industrialised nations are today consulting Singapore to help them in some ICT software security development and management.

Is there any earthly reason why Ghana cannot use lCT to achieve digital economy for the benefit of its citizens like Singapore? It is the considered view of this writer that Ghanaians are very intelligent people and if they set their priorities right they can achieve what Singaporeans are doing; even more in a shorter period. 

           

The vision of the leadership is critical in this regard. It is gratifying to note that a national ICT policy frame- work has already been put in place by the, government and Ghana's Parliament has taken a favourable view of it. Ghanaian economists and ICT Gurus must not work at cross purposes. They must think, build and operate as a team.

ICT must be introduced to schools right from the primary level. And it must begin with computer literacy, which- must be made part and parcel of the nation's educational system. This must begin from day one.

 When this is done, discipline must become a national password. Singaporeans do not wait for their Vice-President to beg them to be disciplined; their market women do not wait for the Mayor of the City to plead with them to clean the market; their commercial drivers do not wait for the Inspector, General of Police to direct traffic when there is black out; students of tertiary institutions do not wait for their Vice-Chancellors or Principals to plead with them not to brutalise their fellow students to death; and above all, second cycle students do not wait for the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports to beg them not to destroy school properties. 

Having said that lCT is the gold mine of the minds, undisciplined mind of cannot concentrate, contemplate, meditate, visualise, create and invent anything. Singapore is making a digital economic progress because the people are self-disciplined.

Therefore, if the government provides computers to schools only for undisciplined, stubborn, disobedient, wayward and recalcitrant students to vandalise and set them ablaze, how can ICT mine the gold in the minds of Ghanaians for the nation to enter the economic knowledge kingdom?

The author works with the Information Services Department (ISD) Accra  abissath@gmail.com

NB: This article was first published by the Daily Graphic on September 2, 2004.

All Rights Matter, Women’s Rights Online In Ghana Matter

By Mawutodzi Kodzo Abissath

MFWA LOGO

There are several African proverbs that extol the values of women. Yet, more often than not, society stereotypes women in negative light. For example, an Ethiopian proverb says: “A house without a woman is like a barn without cows.” Another Ghanaian proverb reminds us: “A woman is a flower in a garden; her husband, the fence around it”.

The object of this article is not about African proverbs but to bring to the fore, an important baseline report on women’s rights online issues in Ghana, which was published on the Media Foundation for West Africa’s website (MFWA) in December 2017.

 http://www.mfwa.org/publication/baseline-study-womens-right-online-issues-in-ghana/

Further, some suggestions will be made for the attention of stakeholders to address some identified challenges to improve women’s participation in Ghana’s cyber space. If Ghana and for that matter Africa is to make progress technologically in this twenty first century, women and girls’ issues, especially in the area of information and communications technologies (ICTs) ought not to be relegated to the background.

Ghana cannot be said to be an island on its own regarding socio-economic, political and cultural issues affecting women globally. Thus, before touching on women’s rights online issues in the country, it is relevant to take a quick glance at a global report on women’s rights online that was published by the World Wide Web Foundation in October 2015. This report could also be accessed on their site. https://webfoundation.org/our-work/projects/womens-rights-online/

The preamble of that global report states: “A newly adopted UN Sustainable Development Goals included an important pledge to harness information and communications technologies (ICTs) to advance women’s empowerment, and a commitment to connect everyone in Least Developed Countries to the Internet by 2020.”  

However, since that declaration, the report lamented that with just about two years to that deadline, the “digital divide” between women and men in the use of the Internet and other ICTs was nothing to write home about.

According to the report, out of nine cities across nine developing countries sampled, it was found that extreme inequalities in digital empowerment “seem to parallel wider societal disparities.” In other words, “women are about 50% less likely to be connected than men in the same age group with similar levels of education and household income.”

Having casually read that global report on women’s right issues online, this writer regretted that Accra the capital city of Ghana was not included in the nine cities selected for the research. The sampled cities included, Yaoundé, Cameroon; Bogota, Columbia; New Delhi, India; Jakarta, Indonesia and Nairobi, Kenya.

The others were Maputo, Mozambique; Lagos, Nigeria; Manila, Philippines and Kampala, Uganda. The report did not seem to have specified the criteria used in the selection of sampled cities and countries.

  However, I feel pacified that MFWA, based in my country, took the initiative and conducted their own study about women’s rights online issues in Ghana, which is now the subject for discussion in this write up. I think the women’s rights group within MFWA that undertook the baseline study deserves a round of applause.

On a more serious note, shall we now highlight the findings of the baseline study on women’s rights issues in Ghana? In the executive summary of the report as published on the Foundation’s site, a point was underscored that gender inequality in Ghana was a pervasive matter. For that reason, certain sections of the country’s leadership, especially among human rights activists, feminists, academics, media and other well-meaning Ghanaians, with the interest of under-represented groups (mostly women at heart, have been making efforts to reverse the trends).

It was noted that, traditionally, efforts to close ‘gendered’ gaps in Ghana have rested on public education intended to highlight the need to give women equal or similar opportunities as men. However, in spite of the efforts being made, some challenges were also being encountered due to certain cultural and social beliefs and practices; levels of illiteracy among the populace and a general unawareness about ‘gendered inequality issues.”

This author was highly impressed to note that it was the realisation by the Media Foundation for West Africa that the internet has the potential to bridge the “digital divide” between men and women, but still remains ‘unexplored terrain’ that prompted them to embark on this baseline study project.  In other words, it dawned on MFWA that many Ghanaian women and girls were being denied the opportunity to access the use of the Internet for economic gains and self-development due to affordability and technical knowhow.

Furthermore, it was realised that even the few women who actually have access to the Internet are at “risk of harassment” as their rights online are not guaranteed. For example, some women, if not all who go online tend to experience the same ‘patriarchal and misogynistic’ attacks they encounter offline.  This explains why the title of the report or the topic for the study was WOMEN’S RIGHTS ONLINE ISSUES IN GHANA.

Like the Global Report of Women’s Rights Online of the World Wide Web Foundation, alluded to above, the Baseline Report of the Media Foundation for West Africa also sampled and interviewed women’s rights groups and government Ministries and Agencies (MDAs) on a range of issues concerning women’s access to and use of the internet as well as policy interventions intended to protect the rights of women online.

Objectives

Basically, the objectives of the study among others were to map out practices and prevailing issues that impact women’s rights online in Ghana; assess interventions by government and women’s organisations to advance women’s rights online in the country; and to make recommendations on the way forward for improving women’s online in Ghana.

Methodology

It is conventional that any scientific research should indicate the method used for data collection, analysis and findings before drawing a conclusion. In that regard, I was curious to ascertain the methodology employed by the MFWA to arrive at their conclusion.

Indeed, the Foundation adopted a mixed approach to gather data from their respondents to achieve the objectives of this crucial study. Besides a survey and in-depth interviews to obtain relevant data from their identified stakeholder groups, in terms of qualitative data, the researchers also employed some basic quantitative methods that allowed for numerical data to determine how widespread the issues of online harassments were confronting our mothers, wives, aunties, sisters and mothers-in-law in this country of Freedom and Justice.

Essentially, for the survey, the cluster sampling technique was used to select 60 female respondents from three clusters including students, formal and informal sectors of the economy in the city of Accra. From the formal sector for instance, respondents included women in financial institutions, government institutions, hospitals, and media organisations. Of course, this makes sense because these are the work places where most working ladies/women would be expected to have easy access to Internet use. At least, the question of affordability would not be a big deal; unless such institutions do not have official computers and Internet connectivity.

For the informal sector, respondents were made up of head potters, popularly known as ‘kayayee’ in Accra; market women, seamstresses, hairdressers, food venders and shop attendants talked to or interviewed. Naturally, in Ghana, and I suppose in many other developing cities in Africa, these are the categories of women who largely constitute the backbone of informal economies. Yet, they are the most digitally deprived, maginalised or completely ignored by the powers that be.

Again, the report explains that students who were selected for the study were from both private and public tertiary institutions. It would be unpardonable if the researchers of the study had ignored the students of private tertiary institutions in this study.  For example, experience has shown that in Ghana, some private tertiary institutions are better equipped with the state of the arts computer labs with well-resourced Internet faculties than some public ones. Thus, it is commendable that they were not sidelined in this research.

Further explanation was given that a questionnaire was used to ‘extrapolate’ quantitative responses from the 60 female respondents. That interview sessions were held with five ladies/women, five women’s rights organisations, two government ministries and one government agency were recorded; and these interviews were later transcribed and analysed thematically.

Findings

Demographically, the report contains a comprehensive table that tabulated information on survey respondents, which could not be reproduced in this article for obvious reasons. Thus, it is recommended that the reader visit the MFWA’s site linked above for details. Suffices it to say that, of the 60 female respondents selected were between the ages of 18 and 50 years and above. They were a mixed basket of those with no formal education, six; those with primary education, 12; Junior High graduates, three; Senior High, four; and Tertiary, 35. The others included single women, 31; married, 21; widow, two; and divorced, six.

In terms of access to Internet, the report indicates that women’s ability to access the Internet was largely linked to the type of mobile phone device they used. It was found that, even though all the 60 respondents owned mobile phones, eleven of them did not have Internet access because their phones did not support Internet services. (In our local parlance, their phones would haven been referred to as ‘yams’ sarcastically, though).

Thus, the remaining 49 respondents had mobile phones, which supported internet services and so had access in terms of being able to go online and use internet applications and social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and web browsers. By implication, this writer should not be mistaken to opine that most of these 49 ladies/women with smart phones were those who were encountering harassments online.

Again, the study reveals that the level of women’s education greatly determines whether women had Internet or not. As a result, it was realised that women who had tertiary education tended to have higher and usage of Internet services (60%). So, by implication, it could be assumed that the higher a woman’s education the higher her risk of being subjected to online harassments. Why should this be the case? If this is not men’s chauvinism against women, then I don’t know what it is. How many highly educated men are harassed online?   

Interestingly, the study also establishes that younger women respondents between the ages of 18-30 (53%) were likely to have access to the internet more than older women; this was followed by women between 31-40 years of age (23%) were also likely to have access and utilise internet services more than those above that age group.

Reasons why Women Use the Internet

This author was more fascinated by the reasons why women in Ghana use the Internet as revealed by the MFWA’s baseline study. It was found out that the most frequently cited reason for using Internet among respondents was to enable them stay connected with family, friends and acquaintances. For example, one respondent interviewed stated: “I speak with my sister abroad on Viber… aside making online calls, I hardly do anything else on the Internet,” she was proud to disclose.

Another lady, according to the report, pointed out: “I make video calls on WhatsApp and Imo, especially to keep in touch with some friends outside the country.”

Other reasons cited included using the Internet for entertainment, education, fashion and income generating activities respectively. For example, for the entertainment purposes, one respondent is reported to have affirmed: “ to check for new songs or videos and sometimes to check on trending celebrities just to know what’s up and to make sure that ‘me too’ when they are talking I can say some.”

One interviewee, who uses the Internet for income-generating purposes had this to say: “I go online to read and check for trending hairstyles so that I can do some for my clients.” Others disclosed that they use the Internet to search for job vacancies and to apply for jobs online.”

Challenges

The MFWA’s baseline study has identified five major challenges affecting women’s access and use of the Internet in the country. They were 1. unreliable Internet  service, 2. high Internet or data costs, 3. lack of technical knowhow, 4. online safety  and 5. security.

However, the most disturbing challenge, in this writer’s view, which authorities concerned, for that matter government should give priority attention to is the online safety issues confronting Ghanaian women.

For example, out of the 60 ladies/women sampled for this study, 19 of them (39%) lamented that they had experienced different types of harassments including non-consensual distribution of their photos/videos online; sexual harassment; cyber stalking; hate or offensive comment/post directed at them for no apparent reasons whatsoever most of the time. Why should women/girls be subjected to these unwarranted cyber mental or physical tortures?

Unfortunately, the study could not place a finger on any policy interventions or concrete measures put in place to address women’s harassments online. The report indicates that most victims of the online abuses themselves did not see the need to report their abusers. That the few who did chose to confide in family members or friends who in turn did nothing about the abuses. In fact, the findings established that “strangely, none of the respondents reported any of the harassment cases to law enforcement agents like the police. Is it not a pity?

Recommendations

The study made some recommendations that cannot be left out in this limited write up. There is need to bridge the digital divide between men and women. Internet accessibility should be made more affordable to all, especially women and girls. Conscious efforts should be made to create awareness about the benefits of the Internet usage. Consistent public education should undertaken about safety and security issue of the Internet. Girls in school right from the primary to the tertiary levels should be encouraged to embrace information and communication technologies (ICTs). Concrete policy interventions about online protection of women/girls should be formulated. Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies should be seen to be more committed to implementing existing policies meant to utilise ICTs to reduce gender inequality in the country. Just to mention a few.  

Suggestions

First of all, it must be confessed that this MFWA’s baseline study has been an eye opener to this writer.  And to add my little voice to that of the Foundation, I wish to suggest that all District/Municipal/Metropolitan Assemblies should set aside a certain percentage of their Common Fund solely for women and girls’ education in ICTs.

In 2007, this writer was privileged to be associated with the establishment of Community Information Centers (CICs) jointly by the then Ministry of Communications and the erstwhile Ministry of Information and National Orientation with Mrs. Oboshie Sai Cofie as a sector Minister of Information. The two Ministries then collaborated and launched two CICs pilot projects at Dodowa in the Greater Accra and Saltpond in the Central regions respectively. At that time, the Communications Ministry was responsible for infrastructure, that is, provision of CICs buildings, computers and Internet connectivity. The Information Ministry was then in charge of content development and management of the CICs.  

The objectives of the CICs among other things were to give an opportunity to the people in deprived and maginalised rural communities to have access to computer and Internet connectivity in their localities.  That policy was aimed at bridging the digital divide between urban and rural dwellers, especially the youth including school dropped-outs.  

I wish to suggest that the Ministry of Communication which is now solely responsible for the CICs to consider placing those ICT facilities at the disposal of rural schools to enable all Ghanaian children, regardless of their geographical locations, especially the girls to have access to Internet use. This will enable Ghana to act in accordance with the “newly adopted UN Sustainable Development Goals to advance women’s empowerment, and a commitment to connect everyone in Least Developed Countries to the Internet by 2020.”

Conclusion

There is this Ewe proverb that says: If you cry for your chicken, you should also sympathise with the hawk.”  Another one cautions: “If you warn the cat not to steal, you should also advise “momoni” salty fish to stop smelling.”

As much as unscrupulous men who abuse women’s rights online are chastised, some women or girls who also take delight in allowing men to video graph them or take photos of their naked bodies or even record their sexual activities and post same deliberately online should be ashamed of themselves. Of course, they have the right to do whatever they please with their own bodies. But this is one way the abuse of, or sexual harassments of WOMEN’S RIGHTS ONLINE ISSUES IN GHANA could be stopped or minimized!  

The author works with the Information Services Department (ISD) abissath@gmail.com

E-GOVERNMENT: THE SINGAPORE EXPERIENCE (I)

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

Daily Graphic August 17, 2004

ONE African proverb admonishes us that: "Whenever the rhythm of the drum beat changes, you must change the dance movement accordingly." It is no longer a privileged knowledge that Information and Communication Technology has launched the entire globe into what is now known as the e-world meaning electronic world.

Today, governments the world over are somersaulting to reinvent and reengineer governance to be more effective, efficient and transparent in the provision of information, goods and services to their citizens electronically.

Fortunately, Ghana has already started dancing to the tune of the technological music, because the government has laid the foundation for e-government by establishing the 'Government of Ghana website popularly referred to as Ghana Portal www.ghana.gov.gh which is being managed by the Information Services Department of the Ministry of Information.

The government has also-established the Ghana-India Kofi Annan IT Centre of Excellence and above all, Ghana has formulated an Information Communication Technology policy  for accelerated development, and this being spearheaded by the Ministry of Communications. Nevertheless, when it comes to the practicability, accessibility and usability of e-government services by citizens, Ghana still has some mountains to climb and some rivers and lagoons to wade through.

It is against this backdrop that this writer deems it relevant to share the Singapore e-government experience with fellow Ghanaians. But, even before shedding some light on e-government strategies and implementation in Singapore, it may be necessary to explain what e-government is in the first place.

On Saturday, July 31, this year, at the Johannesburg Airport in South Africa, this writer came across a group of Ghanaians on their way to Zimbabwe to take part in a book fair in that country. Then, in a chat with one of them, I told him I was from Singapore where I underwent a short training course in e-governrnent. Then my interlocutor exclaimed: 'Eeeee-Government!' "What is that animal, too?" he virtually shouted unconsciously.

As a matter of fact, my friend confessed that, he was hearing for the first time the term e-government. Later, I started debating with my inner self: "If this man, well-educated, living in the capital city of Accra, participating in an international event such as a book fair, has not yet heard of the term e-government, then what happens to the majority of uneducated and less fortunate brothers and sister dwelling in deprived rural communities of the country?

Because we are living in a world of Knowledge Management (KM) and Experience Sharing, I cannot claim to be an expert in this field, but the little I know about e-government must be shared with others for the benefit of all who care to know, for the advancement of mankind and to the glory of the Devine Intelligence or the First Giver of knowledge itself.

The United Nations defines e-Government as "Permanent commitment by the government to improve the relationship between the private citizen and the public sector through enhanced, cost effective and efficient delivery of services, information and knowledge.”

There are five categories of measuring a country’s "egov" progress in terms of Web Presence. This includes Emerging - Enhanced - Interactive - 'Transactional and Fully Integrated. All UN member states have been called upon and encouraged to embark on this e-government project and programme. Accordingly, the world body has adopted a way of assessing the progress of each country in this regard.

Significantly, the UN Report for this year on e-government globally, Singapore, a small Island city state of land area of 697.1sq km, and with a population of 4.185 million souls, is sharing the second position with the mighty United States of America;  with Canada comfortably sitting on top of them all.      .

How did Singapore make it to the top of the e-government league table of the world? What strategies and policies were put in place; when and how did that country achieve such a technological feat over and above the super powers of this planet of economic inequalities?

Computerisation

Singapore set off on its e-government journey 25 years ago. In 1981, Singapore embarked upon a computerisation programme of the Government machinery. It first established a National Computer Board and National Computerisation Plan.

The Plan was to ensure the systematic growth of local IT industry; Development of IT manpower pool; Civil Service Computerisation Plan and the production of 850 IT Professionals   .

National IT Plan

 After the Computerisation programme, the Singapore government embarked upon what was referred to as the National IT Plan. The National IT Plan initiated what was known as the Beginnings of Computing Communications Convergence. It also constituted what was dubbed Electronic Data Inter change (EDI), which was basically aimed at bridging, Government and industry.

This plan took place in 1986 - that is five years or so after the Computerisation Programme.

IT 2000 Blueprint for Intelligence Island

This Blueprint strategy that also started over five years after the National IT Plan in 1992, was to effect what was called Flagship Projects of Singapore Island. It had the objectives of creating an Electronic network linking all libraries in that country; Securing infrastructure for e-commerce: Securing infrastructure for checking all building plans in the country, and above all establishing Singapore as ONE - that is, to create One Network for everyone in Singapore. It was this strategy that shot Singapore up to the position of the world’s first nationwide broadband infrastructure nation in the e-world.

Infocomm 2001

The next step Singapore took after attaining a nationwide broadband infrastructure was launched, was what was dubbed Infocomm 2001. This project was launched in 2000 and aimed at developing Singapore into a vibrant and dynamic global information communication capital, with a thriving and prosperous e-Economy, and a pervasive and "infocomm-savvy" e-Society and full telecom liberalisation in that country.          

Connected Singapore

In 2003, the Singapore Government launched final onslaught on its e-government programme by establishing what was simply known as Connected Singapore. This strategy was to unleash the potential for the total realisation of all e-government possibilities through the Infocomm project of the country.

Briefly the preceding steps known in Singapore, as the five National Strategic ICT Plans give us an overview  of what made them second e-Nation in the e-World.

The author works with the Information Services Department (ISD) abissath@mail.com

NB: This part 1 of this article was first published by the Daily Graphic on August 17, 2004

E-GOVERNMENT: THE SINGAPORE EXPERIENCE (II)

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

Daily Graphic August 18, 2004

ANOTHER African proverb reminds us that: "If your tormentor who is running after you does not stop, you too, must not stop running." As long as Ghana remains a developing country, Ghanaians must not stop fighting to develop. In the first part of this article, the

definition of e-Government is according to what the United Nations has provided. The Singapore Government used the UN definition of e-Government by as a guide, simplified it for easy understanding of ordinary person in the street.

According to Singapore, e-Government is the Use of technology to enhance the access to and delivery of government services to benefit citizens and businesses. It pointed out that the beneficiaries of e-Government include the Government itself, Businesses and the Citizens of the country concerned.

How did the Singapore Government use technology to enhance access to and delivery of government information and services to the people?

e-Government Action Plan II (2003-2006)

In order to achieve its stated goals, the Singapore Government formulated an action plan known as e-Government Action Plan II for 2003 to 2006.The vision of the Government was to be a leading e-Governrnent to better serve the nation in the digital economy.

The objective of this Plan was to ensure "a Networked Government that delivers accessible, integrated.

Value-added e-services to our customers and helps bring citizens closer together".  A slogan was developed thus: e-Government- Delighting Customers, Connecting Citizens.

What are some of the services that the Singapore Government provides for its customers who are the citizens of the country? Even before we touch on some of the services provided online, shall we find out why Singapore Government came to the realisation that the beneficiaries 'of e-Government include Government, Businesses and Citizens?

It is important to note that within the scope of e-Govemment, there are several categories that fit into the broad definition of e-Government.

For .example, e-Government constitutes: A- Government-to-Citizens (G2C); B- Government-to-Business (G2B); C- Government-to-Employees (G2E); and eventually Government-to-Government (G2G). G2C: Government-to-Citizens, according to experts includes all the interactions between a government and its citizens that c/ill take place electronically. The objective of G2C is to offer citizens faster, more responsive, more convenient and less complicated means to public services.

G2B: In the case of Government-to-Business, it refers to e-commerce in which government sells to businesses or provides them with services, as well as businesses selling products and services to government. Again the objective of G2Bis to enable businesses to interact, transact and communicate with government online, with greater speed and convenience.

G2E: Government-to-Employees includes activities and services between government units and their employees. As the term implies, the objective of G2E is to develop and cultivate IT capabilities among government employees to deliver efficient and cost-effective services. G2G Interestingly, Government-to-Government seems to have dual significances. One G2G is said to consist of activities between Government and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the same Government.

The other meaning of G2G is a situation which governments have to deal with their other counterpart Governments of different countries.

This second G2G in the opinion of experts is anchored on trust and interdependence, which allows for information sharing among Governments on regional, sub-regional and international issues. For example, the control of terrorism; the management of cross-border diseases like SARS, which occurred in Asia some time ago or even HIV/AIDS. This G2G also has to do with common economic challenges as well as ethnic wars and conflicts problems facing West African States for instance.

For the Singapore Government to achieve the enviable e-Government status through effective online services delivery to its citizens, certain strategies were again adopted:  E-Government Infrastructure the Government put in place a National Information Infrastructure as backbone for. e-government services delivery. This strategy was christened Public Service Infrastructure (PSI) in Singapore. Physical Infrastructure Government itself provided Internet access points in convenient places such as public libraries, shopping malls, government offices, hospitals ,subway stations and clubs and relevant public places for the citizens to use free of charge.

Technology Infrastructure Here, the Government provided Computers, Servers, networks (broadband and wireless), mobile devices, smart cards as well as Technology standards that. is open and scalable such as Java, XML, Web services.

Under this the government provided E-Government ID and Password for all its Citizens. It made it easier for every citizen to know how to log online and access Government information and services

E-Government Legislation & Policy

Having put in place the necessary infrastructure for the e-government services to the citizens, the next strategy the Singapore Government adopted was the enactment of relevant rules and regulations and policies that govern the implementation of the programme.

Some of the major regulations were meant to' safeguard privacy and information security; data protection, data privacy, computer misuse, legal recognition of electronic transactions, official control of cryptography, security audits and well as standards and certification of security practices.

Singapore's 'legislation and code of practice include Computer Misuse Act; Electronic Transaction Act, which was enacted in 1998, tried to define the rights and obligations of transaction parties, and also provided legal status on the use of electronic records and signature. The Government also provided data Protection Code.

E-Government Services

After putting in place ICT infrastructure and legislation and policy the Government then developed a website called E-Citizen Portal, This website was to enable citizens to ask questions and receive answers. Specific electronic services deliveries are provided on this site.

Some of-the services on this website include Payment of taxes and lines; Issuance and Renewal of driver's licenses; Helping citizens find employment; National campaigns and awareness creation on social services such health and education; Introduction of Internet and IT training courses; e-learning and smart card in schools. So computer literacy started' right from the primary school in Singapore etc.

In the poor and rural communities, the Government provided free computers and Internet-access points and posted officers who know how to operate the equipment to assist the illiterates to benefit from the online services.

In Singapore today, services like the issuing of Passports and Birth Certificates' are much easier in the comfort of the home. Applicants 'can fill the necessary forms and. e-mail them to the appropriate authorities. Government will rewards for obtaining the services on line. Interestingly if you go personally to those offices, you will pay a penalty. And after paying the penalty you will be directed to go and use a computer in a corner there in the office still to apply for the documents' you wanted.

In the case of Businesses, E-Tender was introduced. Any company that wanted to bid for. government contracts can only do that through the Internet. Corporate taxes could only be filed electronically. Annual Reports and periodic business reports are all presented online. As in the case of E-Citizens Portal there is also the one-stop Portal for all government procurement opportunities with over 8,000 trading partners. It is on this Portal that all corporate bodies do business with the Government in Singapore. This is known as integrated e-Services.

This is the level of E-Government Services in Singapore. Is it any wonder that they are the second e-Nation after Canada in the a-World? Ghana too; can do the same no matter how long it takes. What is important is for the Ghanaian IT experts to give the correct technological advice to the Government of Ghana.

The author works with the Information Services Department (ISD) abissath@gmail.com

NB: This is part II and final of the article published on August 17, 2004.

African Movies: The bad and the ugly
Graphic Showbiz  September 6, - September 12,  2001

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

NORMALLY, when a journalist defames a person through his writings, he assassinates the character of an individual. But when a television station screens a violent, obscene or an objectionable film to the public, it can be said to have committed moral genocide against society.

Ghana now has three major television stations based in Accra, the capital. For some time now, it has been observed with some concern that these stations have embarked on a kind of cold war to outdo one another in terms of competition to attract more viewers to their respective stations. And one of the strategies that has been adopted by the stations to win the viewership race is the introduction of "African Movies".

Initially, many film lovers thought that with the title "African Movies, "Ghanaians were going to be granted the privilege of watching films produced from various parts of Africa. It has turned out, however, that the so called "African Movies" being screened are made up of about 99.99 per cent Nigerian films.

Unfortunately, some of the Nigerian films being televised may be doing more harm than entertainment to the Ghanaian society. The Nigerian films that are shown are often full of superstition, fear, killings, removal of human hearts and genital organs, stealing with masked faces and guns. Why must Ghanaian stations televise such destructive and negative films as "African Movies?"

Some people are of the view that the recent upsurge in armed robbery in the country could be as a result of some of these films being screened on national television.

Other people blame television for the increasing student brutalities and vices in various second cycle institutions in the country; while others still attribute the waywardness of their teenage girls and boys to obscene and immoral films on television.

As a matter of fact, it is alleged that some of these Nigerian films being televised in Ghana can never be shown on Nigerian television because of their subject matter. Are Ghanaian television stations therefore sacrificing the morality of the Ghanaian society on the altar of cheap and inferior African movies?

This writer has learnt that the government is considering a review of the Draft Film Policy for the benefit of the nation. While the government is taking this and other necessary measures to revamp the film industry, this writer wishes to appeal to the conscience of television stations to consider the future of Ghana and use their judgments to televise films that will be generally acceptable to the Ghanaian society.

There was a time when GTV screened some very good Ghanaian films. In fact, there was a particular programme called Time With NAFTI by which films produced by students of the National Film and Television Institute were shown on GTV and the people of Ghana loved them. What I happened to such a wonderful programme?

For the benefit of the television stations there have been a number of very good African films that have been featured at FESPACO, some of which have won various awards including Ghana's own Kwaw Ansah's Love Brewed in the African Pot and Heritage Africa. Ironically, Nigeria is one African country which is yet to win the highest film award at FESPACO. So what criteria are the television stations in Ghana using to classify Nigerian films as “African Movies?”

A scene in the "Love Brewed in the African Pot" A FESPACO  Award winning Ghanaian film.

NB: This article was first published by the Graphic Showbiz in 2001. abissath@gmail.com

                   

Media building is nation building

By Mawutodzi K. Abissath

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2001. NO. 148353 PRICE: ¢1,500

BECAUSE the 21st century is an information and knowledge age, any government anywhere on the face of the earth that attempts to suppress, oppress or gag the media does so at its own peril.

On Thursday, September 13, 2001, the Daily Graphic carried a lead story in its centre spread headlined "Government will NOT GAG MEDIA". The statement was attributed to Hon. Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of Trade and Industry, who was reported to have handed over the former Ghana National Trading Corporation (GNTC) Club House opposite the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) in Accra to the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) for its new Press Centre.

The Independent issue of that same day (13/9/2001) also reported the presentation on its front page under the heading, "Kufuor fulfils promise to Press". In the story, the President of the West African Journalists Association (WAJA), Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere, who was said to have witnessed the ceremony, was reported to have recalled that about 40 years ago, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah donated the premises of the GIJ to the GJA, which was later taken over by a military government in 1966.

What prompted this author to write this article was that this kind gesture by the government toward the Ghana Journalists Association has generated some sort of anxiety and apprehension among a cross-section of the public. Some people, including some media practitioners themselves, were of the view that by donating this state property to GJA for its headquarters, the government was pampering journalists.

That this kind of "love affair" between the government and the media will lead Journalists compromising on their duties when it comes to criticising the government. Of course, people who hold this view are the masters of their own opinions. But they need to be reassured that their apprehension is misplaced. They may only be developing the symptoms of a disease called the FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN. Government has a responsibility to create a suitable socio-economic and political atmosphere for the media to function effectively and efficiently.

Such people must be politely reminded that it was not for nothing that the media were acknowledged as the Fourth Estate of the Realm. Thus, 'if the state' has the responsibility to provide office accommodation for the Executive, the Legislature, and the Judiciary, why not the media so that together they can build the nation?

Ghana's 1992 Constitution was clear on the role of the media. Article 162 section (5) stipulates that "All agencies of the mass media shall, at all times, be free to uphold the principles, provisions and objectives of this Constitution, and shall uphold responsibility and accountability of the government to the people of Ghana". I underlined "responsibility and accountability of the government to the people of Ghana" to prove a point that whether government allocates the Bank of Ghana building or even the Castle to the GJA, media men and women will play their watchdog role to check and' crosscheck-government on behalf of the people who put the government in office. The Sahara saga is a typical example.

Furthermore, it must be pointed out that Ghanaian journalists cannot claim to be saints or pretend to have attained perfection within the relatively short span of constitutional democratic practice in the country. However, most of them have long passed the epoch of professional mediocrity, docility and sycophancy. In other words, most journalists are guided by the ethics of the profession and their own conscience in the discharge of their duties. But there are some who are always hitting below the belt, anyway.

In May, 1998, on the occasion of that year's World Press Freedom Day, the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, was reported on Radio France Internationale (RFI) to have called on world journalists to practice what he termed "Preventive Journalism".

According to the UN Secretary-General, journalists were identified as the best professionals in the world today "who can use their profession to promote world peace". He cited the Rwanda genocide which claimed over 500,000 souls which could have been prevented through preventive journalism, he observed.

A week after Mr Annan had elevated the journalism profession to that first class and highest esteem as far as service to humanity was concerned, another Secretary-General, this time of the International Catholic Union of the Press (UCIP), based in Geneva, Switzerland, Mr Joseph Chittilappilly, came to Ghana for a refresher training course for young journalists of the Catholic Church in the country.

I recall vividly that Professor George Hagan, the CPP presidential candidate, then Director of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Dr Bona Koomson of the School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, His High Holiness, Rt Rev. Dominic Andoh, Archbishop of Accra, and H. E. Ghana's Ambassador designate to Sierra Leone, Mr Kabral Blay, Amihere, were among the resource persons who addressed that seminar which took place at the Ghana Registered Nurses Association Hostel, here in Accra.

During the course, the DCIP Secretary-General revealed that there was a new media philosophy evolving. The philosophy or theory or new paradigm was that the world was beginning to recognise journalists (the press) as belonging to the FIRST ESTATE OF THE REALM (caption mine).

 "The belief is that the journalism profession now goes beyond its traditional function of informing, educating and entertaining people. Rather, journalists are the real professionals who teleguide the minds of policy makers in the correct manner of governing human beings" he explained. In other words, world leaders now depend largely on the media in order to adopt decisions that will impact positively on the people they are ruling.

Therefore, any government that toys with or antagonises the media may be digging its own grave. It is better to court and co-operate with the media than to criminalise them. Various past regimes in this country at one time or the other have donated some movable and non-movable properties to various professional bodies. For instance, the NDC government once presented a Niva vehicle to GJA. It also donated the former building of the Passport Office near the Independence Square to the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), and others. But the media never treated the NDC government with kid’s gloves at all.

The donation of the former GNTC Club House to GJA, therefore, will hardly influence the media to pour white powder on the heads of officials of the ruling government who may go wrong. The Christian Bible made it clear that if you knock, you shall be opened and if you ask, you shall be given. The GJA has requested for office accommodation and it has been granted. The gesture is a wise media-government relations of strategy the NPP government has adopted which any future government must photocopy.

The lesson here is that if the government helps the media to lay a solid foundation, the media will assist the government to lay a formidable foundation, too, and together they will build the nation upon a rock of unity peace, tolerance, harmony and understanding for the prosperity of citizens.

NB: This article was first published by the Daily Graphic in 2001. abissath@gmail.com