Regional News of Tuesday, 17 July 2012

Source: GNA

MEST to collaborate with GIDC to solve technological problems

Dr Mustafa Ahmed, a Deputy Minister of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST), has pledged the Ministry's commitment to find a solution to census, statistical and other technological development problems facing the country.

He said the Ministry would also work with Ghanaian professionals in the Diaspora under the Ghana International Development Consortium (GIDC) to come out with a solution.

This was the outcome of a meeting with representatives of GIDC in his office in Accra recently.

A statement issued in Accra on Tuesday by the GIDC and copied to the Ghana News Agency said “Dr Ahmed had put across some development projects of greater interest of President John Evans Atta Mills, and wished the GIDC experts would consider them in their programmes and come out with solutions”.

Mr. Ebenezer Abuabu, the leader of the GIDC representatives gave the assurance that it had the capacity to assist the country to come out with comprehensive, integrated and lasting technological solutions that the country would be pleased with.

He said based on the experience and the track record of their German partners, they were confident that the nation’s sophisticated integrated e-government system needs could be met to help the current and future governments address the developmental challenges of Ghana.

“The Ghanaian professionals are therefore ready to come to Ghana to demonstrate this to the Government as soon as MEST, in conjunction with the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), finally arranges for their coming,” he said.

The consortium proposed an integrated “All in One System“ solution, which includes a modern voting technology that can address the voter verification problem in Ghana and the challenges facing the nation in the area of census data collection and analysis for effective implementation of governments policies and programmes.

The consortium said a comprehensive integrated e-government technology solution is needed to address the nation’s residential, voting and data gathering, for effective and meaningful policy-making on a long-term basis.**