Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has indicated that "social media can make people anti-social" and so "we have to guard against".
Opening the new Huawei Headquarters in Accra on Wednesday, the Vice President said "It is possible to do virtually everything that we do on computers on smartphones. But the same attributes of smartphones can turn them into a source of distraction at work, in schools, churches and at social gatherings. It is not unusual to observe at meetings that people devote all their attention to socialising on their smartphones. It is common now to see people sit together and yet each is busy on their phone, chatting with others many miles away. Social media can make people anti-social and we have to guard against this because ICT has assumed great importance in driving economies".
Read full details of what he said below
Mr. Chairman,
Minister of State
Your Excellency the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana,
The Global Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Technologies,
Distinguished Invited Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me start by thanking Huawei Technologies Limited for inviting me to be part of the commissioning of their new headquarters building. This Headquarters I the assurance we need that Huawei are here for the long term. Thank you for the vote of confidence in Ghana.
This headquarters is a further expression of the deepening relations between our two countries. Indeed, just last week, your Ambassador in her football kit, joined President John Mahama to commission a new multi-purpose sports stadium in Cape Coast, built with the support of the people and government of China.
As part of Ghana-China cooperation, China has assisted Ghana deploy fiber optic broadband infrastructure across the country. This has allowed us to promote ICT in many aspects of our lives; governance, media, banking, health, education, business, entrepreneurship and research among others.
Huawei has contributed to an interactive e-Government system linking the office of the President to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as the Regional Coordinating Councils through the deployment of tele-presence equipment and technology.
Huawei has been a good corporate citizen promoting information and Communication Technology development in Ghana and the opportunity for many Ghanaians to explore the possibilities in ICT. But we have to do more. We need to modernize the country’s underdeveloped telecommunications infrastructure.
We thank China and Huawei for contributing to support ICT projects in deprived communities and the donation of ICT laboratories to four of Ghana’s public Universities.
Mr. Chairman
The revolution in ICT presents us with an opportunity to harness its diverse innovations in developing our human resource to help accelerate Ghana’s development.
We cannot cope with the opportunities advances in ICT provide, if we do not develop the capability of our youth in that area. It is for this reason that Government supports the roll out of ICT infrastructure in schools. We encourage this because we have to equip our future leaders with the relevant skills to be able to take full advantage of the enormous opportunities that ICT provides.
Mr Chairman
The growth of social media has been phenomenal. Data penetration in Ghana is impressive and my hope is that it will continue to allow people and companies to create, share and exchange data. The spread of smartphones, their ease and frequency of use, and the sheer convenience and immediacy places the world in the palms of our hands. It is possible to do virtually everything that we do on computers on smartphones.
But the same attributes of smartphones can turn them into a source of distraction at work, in schools, churches and at social gatherings. It is not unusual to observe at meetings that people devote all their attention to socialising on their smartphones. It is common now to see people sit together and yet each is busy on their phone, chatting with others many miles away.
Social media can make people anti-social and we have to guard against this because ICT has assumed great importance in driving economies.
Mr. Chairman,
To conclude, Government cherishes the successful relationship and technology transfer that Huawei has brought with the investment. It is my wish that other companies will follow suit and locate their regional offices here to take full advantage of the peace and security in Ghana and be able to reach the 300 million people in the West African market.
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