Accra, Jan. 10, GNA - The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC) on Monday rolled out its electronic connectivity agenda for 2011, which includes setting Information, Communication and Technology centres in all nurses training institutions. "GIFEC partnering with the Ministry of Health would equip all nursin= g training institutions with modern computer laboratory to ensure that trainees have unhindered access to the internet and other electronic facilities," Mr Kofi Attor, GIFEC Administrator, told the Ghana News Agen= cy (GNA) in an interview in Accra.

He said the project involved providing the institutions with high spee= d computers, printers, scanners, projectors and servers, linking them with th= e internet in consonance with government's policy. Mr Attoh said under the 93Better Ghana Agenda," and in the Action Y= ear of the government, the President had acknowledged the urgent need for the development and implementation of a comprehensive and integrated ICT for accelerated development policies, strategies and plans. In view of these, GIFEC will set up ICT Centres at Agricultural Training Institutions, Security Agencies and National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and also set up more Community Information Centres (CIC). Mr Attor said the government in effect had identified ICT as the drive= r and enabler of a sustained and co-ordinated socio-economic development in Ghana. He said other projects such as Common Telecommunication Facilities, School Connectivity, CIC, Post Office Connectivity, Prison Connectivity, an= d the Library projects would continue in 2011. "We are currently working under the School Connectivity Project with= 38 Colleges of Education, 10 Youth Centres, 37 National Vocational Training Institutes, 37 Technical Schools and a number of Junior and Senior High Schools."

Mr Attoh said GIFEC was set up to facilitate the spread of ICT and its use in rural Ghana to help promote research and reading culture, train rura= l schoolchildren and teachers in and the use of ICT and empower rural communities by providing access to information. He said GIFEC was collaborating with all the major telecommunications operators in the provision of common telecommunications site facilities in selected areas across the country under the Universal Access to Telecommunications Programme (UATP). The collaboration involves the award of subsidies to willing and eligible telecommunications operators for the provision of Common Telecommunications Site Facilities. He said GIFEC would also continue to educate both the public and telecommunication operators on the erection of masts, their impact on community and health of the people and also monitor the situation to ensure that operators adhered to safety mechanism.