ICT contributes to economic growth despite low usage

The impact of the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the economic and social transformation in the country has yielded positive results.

The contribution of ICT to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country increased from 2.3 per cent in 2009 to 10.5 per cent in 2011 while the industry has created 3,500 additional jobs in 2011 compared to 3,050 in 2010.

According to an analytical report of the 2010 Population and Housing Census (PHC), a module was included in the 2010 Census to access the ownership and use of ICT facilities among the populace.

It also said the mobile penetration rate increased from 74 per cent in 2009 to 84.6 per cent in 2011while the number of internet subscribers also increased from 1,296,047 to 4,086,428 during the same period.

Despite the contribution of the sector, accessibility to computers remained low. For instance, only, 7.9 per cent of households in the PHC owned a desktop and laptop computers which are necessary tools for accessing and processing information.

On the utilisation of the internet, the 2010 Population and Housing Census recorded 1,312,971 users of internet facilities out of 16,886,306 population who are 12 years and above.

This indicates that only 7.8 per cent of the population 12 years and older had access to internet. The highest percentage of internet users in the country, 42.3 per cent, resided in the Greater Accra region, followed by Ashanti region with 22.5 per cent, with the lowest in Upper East Region with 1.2 per cent and Upper West recording 1.1 per cent.

With respect to ownership of mobile phones, the report said 47.7 per cent of the population 12 years and older owned mobile phones. Meanwhile, at the regional level, Greater Accra had the highest proportion of mobile phone owners (73.5%), followed by the Ashanti Region (56.1%).

USE OF ICT IN AGRICULTURE

The report further indicated that, a total of 23,729 agricultural households had access to with fixed telephone lines adding that “with a total count of 2,503,006 agricultural households in the census, it implies that less than one percent (0.95%) of agricultural households had access to fixed telephone lines.”

It said the highest proportion of agricultural households with fixed telephone line lived in the Ashanti Region (20.7%), followed by the Eastern Region (16.0%) and Greater Accra Region (14.0%).

RECOMMENDATIONS

The report recommended that efforts be made to bridge the digital dive between Ghana and the rest of the world as well as the internal urban-rural divide which accounts for the low rate of usage of internet facilities.

It also said the penetration of mobile phones among agricultural households offers an opportunity for government agencies, private companies and community organizations to disseminate important public information through that medium and as such there is the need to include the use of ICT in the agriculture sector.

“To increase the use of Internet, the government, especially the District Assemblies, and private organization, may need to set up internet centers in public places such as libraries and community centres. The use of internet, however, is closely linked with regular supply of electricity,” it said.