Accra, June 30, GNA - The Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI, Papa Owusu Ankomah on Monday reiterated Government's policy to promote universal access to Information Communication Technology (ICT) in all parts of the country, particularly remote areas that are underserved.

"The attainment of this objective is very important if, as a Government, we are to bring our venerable groups in the peri-urban and rural communities into the mainstream national growth and development," he said when presenting ICT equipment to the Ghana Investment Fund for Telecommunications (GIFTEL) to support community-based ICT centres. The items which included LCD Monitors, System Units, Computer Speakers, HP Scanjet, Scanners and Keyboards were given to the Ministry as support from the United Nations during the recently ended 12th Meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XII).

Papa Owusu Ankomah noted that his Ministry could have used those items to augment its own pool of equipment, but in view of the importance it attached the needs of people in rural areas who were out of reach of ICT and in conformity with Government objective, the Ministry decided to donate the equipment as part of contribution to bring the use of ICT to the doorsteps of people through GIFTEL. He charged GIFTEL to ensure that the items reached areas where they were most needed and used properly to generate maximum benefits. Mr Abraham Kofi Asante, Chief Executive Officer of GIFTEL, who received the items, expressed gratitude to the Ministry, saying the items would be distributed fairly and put to good use. He said GIFTEL had already completed 86 community ICT centres with 41 centres fully equipped.

Mr Asante said GIFTEL sought to bridge the gab between digital divide and also provide information to people through ICT.