Kumasi, Nov.23, GNA - A state-of-the- art Information Communication Technology (ICT) centre has been opened at the College of Technology Education, Kumasi, of the University of Education Winneba.

The facility, known as Gateway Internet Caf=E9, seeks to offer reliable high speed DSL broadband and wireless internet access to members of the university community and its environs.

Mr Stephen Opoku Agyeman, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, told t= he Ghana News Agency in an interview at the University Campus that, the facility equipped with 60 hi-tech computers and other modern facilities, was his contribution towards the promotion of ICT education for the developme= nt and growth of knowledge based economy.

He said apart from serving as a research centre for students, lecturers,=

business managers and others who required ICT for their activities, it wo= uld also serve as a training school for the youth. It would also offer modern professional secretarial support services to them. Mr Agyeman said ICT now provides broad opportunities for the people, especially those in academia, for solution to some of the challenges whic= h confront them in their education and research activities.

Ghana cannot afford to be left behind in the knowledge age and there is the need for the private sector to support the government to increase access to the use of ICT in order to speed up the nation's development agenda. Mr Agyeman, however, appealed to the government to support the private sector by way of credit facilities and other incentives to enable more people to invest in the ICT sector.

He also appealed to chiefs to make land available for private investors to establish ICT facilities in their communities to enable their people to h= ave easy access to the Internet. Mr Agyeman urged members of the university community to take advantage o= f the facility and use it to enhance their academic, social and business activities. 23 Nov. 09