Wa, June 3, GNA - The government has awarded contracts to the tune of one billion cedis for the provision of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centres in all districts of the Upper West Region, Mr. Sahanun Mogtari, the Regional Minister announced at Wa on Wednesday. When completed, he said, these centres would be equipped with satellite facilities to enable more people in the region to access the Internet and its related facilities.

He said this at the launch of the One-Touch GSM cellular phone system for Ghana Telecom in the region at Wa.

With the arrival of one-touch, the region now has three cell phone networks which includes Spacefon and Buzz.

The Regional Minister hoped this would generate healthy competition and promote efficiency in the system and further called on Ghana Telecom to extend the facility to the rest of the region.

Mr. Mogtari appealed to Ghana Telecom to use its facilities to boost television and radio transmission in the region.

He cautioned the public against the use of foreign objects such as cigarette stubs and sticks to manipulate the pay-phone booths which often resulted in their damage to the disadvantage of everybody. Mr. Felix Kwaih, the Upper West Regional Head of Ghana Telecom said all areas which had reception of the signals from that cell site but had no telephone facilities, would be provided with GSM pay-phones.

He said Ghana Telecom was planning to immediately extend the GSM cellular phone facility to all big towns in the region, particularly, Lawra, Tumu and Hamile.