Ghana tries to bridge computer-technology gap

February 17, 1998
Web posted at: 3:47 p.m. EST (2047 GMT)

From Correspondent Bob Cohen

ACCRA, Ghana (CNN) -- Forget about recess. Children at a school in Ghana's capital have found there's something even more fun than playground games -- computers.

"They wish they could come every day," said Amma Ofori-Yeboah, a computer teacher. "The kids really like computers."

Ofori-Yeboah's school is one of a growing number in Ghana that are offering computer classes and Internet access.

Introduced to her first computer only four years ago, Ofori-Yeboah has had to do some learning of her own. Now, like her students, she has the skills to go online and communicate with educators around the world. It's just one example of the impact computers are having all across Africa.

"We have the same access to knowledge and technology as everybody else in the world and that is a tremendous opportunity that we've never had before in the history of developing countries such as Ghana," said Dr. Nii Quaynor of Network Computer Systems.

In 1994, only one country in sub-Saharan Africa had direct access to the Internet. Today, all but four countries are connected. Ghana alone has three private Internet service providers.

Access to the Internet has made Africa not only a consumer of information, but a producer as well.

Now, anyone from any location can log onto Ghana's official home page and read the local papers or learn about African culture.

Ashanti Goldfields, Africa's largest gold mining company, recently obtained its own satellite. Operated by an internal Internet system, the satellite will give its Ghana headquarters the ability to instantly communicate with any of its mines scattered across Africa.

"Information that would take weeks in the olden days would (now) take seconds," said Kwesi Amoa of the Ashanti Goldfields.

Despite the rapid development and changes in computer technology in Africa, experts say much of the continent is being left behind.

"If you look at the example of either television or radio and how long it took to get the spread of those media, the Internet is happening now. Revolution is going on here," said Bill Keith, president of Africa Online.

For those with money, computer stores in the capital of Accra offer modern machines, the most popular software, even the latest multimedia systems. But for the vast number of Ghanaians, computers are still out of reach.

The country's communication infrastructure is just one of the obstacles. Ghana has only 100,000 telephone lines for 18 million people. The government is hoping that its privatization of the telecommunications industry will make more telephone lines available to more of its people. But even with more phones, the greatest barrier facing the spread of computer technology is cost. The average Ghanaian earns less than $500 per year.

Part of the solution is making e-mail and the Internet available to ordinary people through post offices and private communication centers where anyone can get a free e-mail address, paying only for messages sent and received.

Ghana's government is also making sure that computer technology is not just limited to the city. Under a special program, school children in rural areas are bused to science centers that have been set up all across the country where the students have access to the same technology as those living in the capital.

Unlike some governments who view the Internet with suspicion and have attempted to control it, officials in Ghana recognize its importance.

"Those who see it as a threat (is because of a) fear of the unknown. But we think we need it for our development. That is going to make us more competitive," said Cmdr. Pius Griffiths, a Ghanaian deputy minister of communications. "In the future, it's not going to be the have and have-nots, but the know and know-nots."

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• Network Computer Systems
• Ghana's Official Web Site

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

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