Minister for Communications Commissions Ultra-Modern Head Office for National Communications Authority
Minister for Communications Commissions Ultra-Modern Head Office for National Communications Authority
The Hon. Minister for Communications, Dr. Edward Omane-Boamah on behalf of the president H.E. John Dramani Mahama has commissioned the new ultra-modern Head Office of the National Communications Authority (NCA) in Accra today.
Hon. Minister for Communications unveiling the plaque known as the NCA Tower, the building is located at the Airport City. It comprises 11 floors including 2 underground parking levels and 3 elevators. Being an equal opportunities employer and making the facilities open to all consumers, the NCA Tower is specially adapted for the physically challenged and has elevators with audio prompts for visually challenged.
In his welcome address, the Director-General of the NCA, Mr. William Tevie said the NCA Tower was built with its stakeholders in mind. He said, “for our staff the NCA Tower means an improved working environment, for our consumers there will be more space to meet and engage with us and their service providers to address their complaints, for our operators, adequate meeting rooms to discuss ongoing regulatory projects and for the ordinary Ghanaian, this goes to prove that once we have a can do attitude combined with effective leadership, we will succeed.”
The Director-General also stated that the building is but one of the numerous achievements recorded over the twenty-year period. “The NCA started off with one office in Accra in 1996. Today, in addition to Accra, the Authority has 7 regional offices in Ho, Sunyani, Koforidua, Bolgatanga, Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale. This is to enable the Authority bring its services closer to the communities and also to facilitate effective monitoring of spectral resources as well as the quality of service delivered by Operators to their consumers in the various regions”, Mr. Tevie added. He indicated that, “having completed this building, we shall discuss the feasibility of constructing our own buildings in these regional offices as against continuing to rent”.
He expressed gratitude to the previous Board members and Directors for their efforts and gave the assurance that the current Board of Directors, Management and Staff will build on their legacies.
Remarks by the Board Chairman, Mr. Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie indicated that the office complex will solidify Ghana’s position in the sub- region as a communications regulator par excellence. In addition, he said, “the office complex marks the Authority’s growth from our beginnings twenty years ago and shows the world what the NCA as a regulator has become by sharing our most treasured technical capabilities with regulators in the sub region.”
In his keynote address Dr. Omane-Boamah outlined the various developments in the communications industry. The Hon. Minister said, “Ghana now has over eighteen million mobile data subscribers. This massive boost shows a complete adoption of ICT technology, evident in various fields- health, agriculture, education and finance, amongst others. Along the expansion in mobile telephony is value added services to enable Internet service providers establish networks and provide services that promote access to ICTs.”
The Hon. Minister also touched on some of the recent policies introduced in the industry. In the speech he read on behalf of the president, he said, “ Over the past three years and still counting in my first term, we have also approved in cabinet a number of progressive policies which seek to expand the frontiers of the gains made so far. These policies are to ensure the issuance of licences for the implementation of International Wholesale Carriers, the Interconnect Clearing House, the Unified telecom and last but not least, the operations of Mobile Virtual Network Operators.
I am happy to note that these policies are being implemented and are also ensuring greater participation of Ghanaians in the telecommunication sector. The full benefits of these forward looking policies will be realised in the coming years and we believe just as others came and still come to learn from Ghana, they will become positive case studies in the near future.”
He commended the NCA management and staff for decentralizing its operations by putting up permanent offices in seven regions. He also commended Board, Management and staff of the Authority for using their internally generated funds to build this huge edifice.
The event was attended by some key stakeholders of the NCA such as the Ghana Independent Broadcasters’ Association, Ghana ICT Chamber, Ghana Journalists Association and the Telecoms Chamber among others.
Issued by the National Communications Authority,
No. 6 Airport City, Accra.
Tel: (0)30 – 2776621/2771701 or 050-145-1522/3.
E-mail: info@localhost
Date – Tuesday, 15th November, 2016
Editor’s Note
About NCA
The National Communications Authority, (NCA), was established by an Act of Parliament, Act 524 in December 1996, which has been repealed and replaced by the National Communications Authority Act, 2008 (Act 769). The Authority is the statutory body mandated to license and to regulate electronic communication activities and services in the country.
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