John Agyekum Kuffour Catholic Information Communication Centre (JAK-CITI) was previously an Agric College serving the good people of Nkwantakese Township and its nearby communities in the Afigya Kwabre District of Ashanti Region. The facility was managed by the Catholic Diocese of Konongo those days. However, it has now been turned into an information communication technology institute to train the youth as well as other groups etc in ICT.

It was not a bad project/ decision of our former president H.E. J.A Kuffour even though his father comes from a village called Akom on your way to Ofinso on the main Tamale highway which is about 1.5 km from the JAK-CITI so that people especially the youth from his father’s hometown benefit from the facility. The institute has a splendid facilities ranging from good buildings, modern computers, modern furniture, internet, nice bus etc including a two flat building for the administrator of the institute.

Unfortunately, after the institute was commissioned in 9th September 2008 by the then president, the institute was not functional until the youth demonstrated in 9th September 2009 and that was a year after its commissioning. It took about six months after the demonstration before it became partially functional. This is because they have never had consistent/permanent courses at the institute simply because the manager/administrator of the institute who is a retired female educationist does not know anything about ICT coupled with poor management.

The internet there has not being working for some couple of months now but the woman has turned deaf ears to it. Besides she has not been seen there for weeks. In lieu of this, there is a one man church called FIATH OF GLORY who has turned the institute to be his church chapel. This man initially had his structure he called church under a Vodafone marts at Nkwantakese. Fortunately this structure collapsed one night during church service on one junior high school girl who was hospitalised for a week but the medical bills have not even yet been reimbursed by this man of God.

I said the structure collapsed fortunately because I have always never liked the idea of people living directly under these high tensions and mobile telecommunication marts due to the dangers they pose. Apart from the effects of the radiation: tumour, cancer, genetic problems, leukaemia etc the structure can even collapse on people.

The million dollar question is should this Man of God use a facility founded by taxpayers money while he generate revenue everyday without paying tax? Should the facility be left alone without accomplishing the objective it was established for? When I contacted the DCE he told me the management is in the hands of the Catholics and the Assembly. So if it even belongs to the Catholics would they be happy to see a one man using their facility? How about the assembly is it because it bears the name of the former president that they have also ignored it forgetting that they advocates the learning of ICT in Ghana?

By: Naaba Agumah

Author; My Life and Buruli Ulcer.

naabagumah@yahoo.com