National Communications Authority

- Press Release

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TAKING ROOTS IN , SPEAKERS DECLARE AS GHANA MARKS 2018 WORLD TELECOMMUNICATIONS DAY

For Immediate Release

Accra, 17th May, 2018 – Speakers at a symposium organised by the National Communications Authority (NCA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications (MOC) in celebration of the 2018 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD 2018) have indicated that, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Information Communication Technology (ICT) are already playing key roles in various sectors of the Ghanaian society and the economy. The speakers, from health, agriculture, cyber security, finance and data protection, who demonstrated the extent to which they use AI in their fields of work, generally agreed that there was still a lot more room for improvement.

The symposium formed part of activities to mark WTISD 2018. Other activities at the event were an opening ceremony and a flag raising event on the premises of the NCA.

 Mr. Kwaku Sakyi-Addo, Board Chairman of NCA, reading the ITU Secretary General’s message

Mr. Joe Anokye, Director General of the Authority in welcoming participants said, as Ghana aspires to make the lives of her people better, AI comes in handy, adding that the Authority is leaving no stone unturned at ensuring that voice and data services are available to the people

1 while at the same time partnering the appropriate institutions to ensure that the cyberspace of the nation is used efficiently.

 Mr. Joe Anokye giving his welcome address.

Giving the Keynote Address on behalf of Honourable Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications, the Deputy Minister of Communications and Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya West, George Nenyi Andah said in order to create a positive enabling environment for the use of AI in Ghana, priority must be to build solid ICT infrastructure so that AI can be developed and used seamlessly.

 Mr. George Nenyi Andah giving the keynote address.

He added that government has invested heavily in fibre infrastructure nationwide with complimentary private sector investment in providing redundancy and adequate capacity in the in-country fibre infrastructure to facilitate the provision of value added services.

Honourable Andah referenced the work of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) who through the rolling out a Universal Access to Telephony programme that extends the coverage of mobile telephone services into areas where access to

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The Deputy Minister also added that to further ensure that we enhance connectivity nationwide to support the AI ecosystem, the Regulator, NCA, authorised Mobile Network Operators to deploy Universal Mobile Telecommunication System, UMTS, in the 2G band which is ensuring that unserved and under-served areas of the country gain the needed access to data.

Speakers at the Symposium

Speaking on the topic “Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Social Good – the Role of NCA”, the Head of the Cyber Security Division of the NCA, Mr. Kwadwo Osafo-Maafo said the NCA as the regulator of the internet space, regulates the electronic communications activities and related services, facilitates the security and safety of electronic communications, conducts network performance monitoring, grants Equipment Authorisations (Type Approval) for standards, health and safety among others. He said the NCA will ensure that it performs its duties to ensure that the right ecosystem is created for AI to thrive.

Role of Telcos

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Ing. Ken Ashigbey in his presentation agreed that AI creates opportunities for mobile operators to undertake digital transformation for two of their core business areas: networks and customer care/experience. These changes, he said, promises increased operational efficiencies, more agile operations and improved customer satisfaction.

He went on to say that in terms of network, alongside the increasing softwarisation of the network, the goal is to achieve “autonomous action” and “intelligent networks”, whereby AI can help both identify a problem and implement a solution based on a given framework. He added that that in the shorter term this will reduce operating costs, but in the longer term it holds the promise of reduced hardware costs.

The Inspiring Story of Trotro Tractor

To solve the problem of majority of farmers who need ploughing services but are unable to reach out to the mechanization centers/Tractor services or operators; the few existing mechanization centers (Operators) mostly been unable to connect to farmers and tractor owners being unable to monitor the operation of their equipment and thereby losing out on their investment, Trotro Tractor developed a solution that works along the principles of AI.

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Trotro Tractor Limited (TTL) has created a platform that connects farmers and tractor operators. The platform allows tractor owners to monitor movement and work progress of their equipment whiles allowing the farmer to request, schedule and prepay for tractor services. The operator on the other hand gets quick requests for tractors (Ploughing) services.

AI and Financial Inclusion

Deputy Head of Payment Systems of the , Clarence Blay indicated that the increasing growth of mobile money within the Ghanaian financial sector provides ample evidence of the impact ICT has within the banking sector. He added that with the recent interoperability of mobile money and the usage of AI, it offers the Central Bank insights that can aid in its regulatory work.

AI and Healthcare delivery

The Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) , Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare said that the GHS is committed to using ICT and AI in delivering quality healthcare for Ghanaians, revealing that as the Director General his vision statement is: “The Ghana Health Service will be driven by ICT to provide excellent health services delivery in achieving the SDG”. He added that the guiding principles border on Information Sharing, Modernizing ICT at service delivery level, integrating evidence based decision making, Capacity building and strengthening ICT governance and support service.

Dr. Nsiah-Asare said the GHS will use AI in the attainment of SDG3 which will Improve patient outcomes, increase access to healthcare delivery and accelerating the attainment of universal health coverage, improved patient engagement and experience (Information and self- responsibility), improved data management for reporting and monitoring, lower operating and maintenance cost and Mobile medical devices for healthcare delivery.

AI and Cyber Security

Chief Superintendent Herbert Gustav Yankson, Head of the Cyber Security Division of the Police CID on his part said AI can be used in cyber security to Identify, Detect, Prevent Attacks, Antimalware Solution, Intrusion Detection, Intrusion Prevention, Particularly zero day malware/ attacks, Risk Assessment/management, Cyber Intelligence for Internet traffic and collaborating with the security solution providers for data where necessary.

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He added that the Police will create specialized units in all regions to investigate specialized cases and a Cybercrime Directorate at the Headquarters to oversee the activities of specialized Units and investigate the cases beyond the capabilities of specialized Units.

AI and Data Protection

Executive Director of the Data Protection Commission (DPC), Mrs. Patricia Adusei-Poku said her outfit is primed for their duties in protecting the data of the citizenry. Throwing light on the role of her outfit, Mrs. Adusei-Poku said the DPC will soon crack the whip leaning on the powers as contained in section 75 to 81 of the law establishing it. The DPC will thus Apply the consistency mechanism in the application of the Act throughout the country in Enforcement, giving orders to cancel registrations, investigate complaints, carry out random audits, accredit and certify organisations and qualifications for DPS and issuing fines and enforcement notices.

Conclusion

In his closing remarks, Mr. Joe Anokye stressed the need for cross-sectoral collaboration to ensure that AI could be developed to enable Ghana achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

 Group photo of some participants

Issued by the National Communications Authority, No. 6 Airport City, . Tel: (0)30 – 2776621/2771701 or 050-145-1522/3. E-mail: [email protected] Date – Thursday, 17th May, 2018

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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.

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day

The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is celebrated annually on 17 May since 1969, marking the date of the founding of ITU and the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention in 1865. This occasion helps raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies.

In November 2006, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, decided to celebrate both events on 17 May as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. The updated Resolution 68 invites Member States and Sector Members to celebrate the day annually by organizing appropriate national programmes with a view to:

 Stimulating reflection and exchanges of ideas on the theme adopted by the Council.  Debating the various aspects of the theme with all partners in society.  Formulating a report reflecting national discussions on the issues underlying the theme, to be fed back to ITU and the rest of its membership.

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