NCR launched

The first association of ICT reporters in the country has been inaugurated in Accra to promote the information technology sector and to also help shape policy formulation. The Association, known as the Network of Communication Reporters (NCR), was formed a couple of years ago and currently has a membership of more than 20 active journalists with interest in information technology issues. It is affiliated to the Ghana Journalists Association and has the heads of the Ministry of Communications, the National Communicational Authority (NCA), Ghana Chamber of Telecommunication, Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, and Google Country Director Estelle Akofio Sowah as patrons. The Director-General of National Information Technology Agency, William Tevie who officially launched the NCR on behalf of the Minister of Communications, said the country is poised to migrate from analogue to digital broadcasting ahead of the ITU’s deadline of July, 2015. Mr. Tevie therefore tasked the Association to lead the crusade in educating consumers to understand the migration process and other issues related to information technology, as the ICT sector has become critical in growing the economy. “The NCR comprises journalists who have specialised in reporting on the telecom and ICT industry, which has always been viewed as a very technical and complex area of journalistic interest. “The NCR could not have come any a better time as this, when Ghana’s communication sector in general and the telecom industry in particular have gone into the annals of the world as one of the most dynamic in the emerging markets,” he said. Currently there are six multinational telecom players in the country, which has helped the country to achieve a mobile penetration rate of nearly 100 percent as at August this year. In addition more than 30 Internet Service Providers are presently in operation, with about 100 more licenced to sell Internet bandwidth to consumers in the country. More so, a number of start-up businesses in the IT industry -- comprising young software developers, SMS aggregators, and several other industry service providers -- have added to the industry’s dynamism in the country. The Dean of the NCR, Charles Benoni-Okine, explained that the Association has been formed to promote the industry and not to do the bidding of any player in the sector, the regulator, or the ministry. “Members will be as objective as possible, ensuring utmost fairness in its reportage and advocacy work in the interest of the consumer,” he said.