The National Communications Authority (NCA) has launched a five-year strategic plan with a call by the Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, to make it available for public scrutiny to promote accountability in the sector.
She also emphasised the importance of the NCA adhering to its strategic plans without deviation to ensure that the nation could fully benefit from them.
“Remain committed to this strategic plan; the inputs came from you, so let it be your guide and prompt one another to stick with it, and I can assure you that at the end of the five years, we will reap and experience its benefits,” she said.
Yesterday’s launch brought together management and board members of the NCA, players in the electronic communications industry, and some members of the public.
Strategic plan
The NCA strategic plan, covering 2024–2028, is the policy blueprint that would guide the authority to implement its initiatives and operations for the next five years. The development of the strategic plan began in December 2022 and ended in April 2023.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful said making the details of the strategic plan available to the public would be in conformity with like-minded regulators such as OFCOM in the United Kingdom, the Federal Communications Commission of the United States, and the Communications Commission in Kenya.
“These are regulators who have developed and published their strategic plans for accountability, and I urge the NCA to replicate the same,” she said.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful explained that the NCA Strategic Plan was built on four main pillars: research, innovation, and process improvement; stakeholder coordination and engagement; human resource strengthening; and resource management.
She said the time was ripe for the NCA to step back, reflect, regroup, and come out stronger than before while consolidating the strengths within the industry and opportunities to drive the next phase of operations in a dwindling global village where communications had managed to bring people together.
The Board Chairman of the NCA, Okatakyie Ababio Boakye Danquah II, said the strategic plan would help the NCA improve considerably on its
operations over the next five years.
“It will serve as a guide for subsequent boards, irrespective of political leanings,” he said.
He said an extensive consultation process unveiled numerous untapped opportunities within the electronic communications sector that made the future exciting for the industry.
“We have gained a wealth of knowledge, and we are optimistic that it will enable us to accomplish even more as we navigate a world of emerging
technologies that continue to surprise us beyond imagination,” he said.
Collaboration
Okatakyie Boakye Danquah called for collaboration between stakeholders to help implement the plan successfully for the benefit of the nation.
He assured the public that the plan would become available on the NCA’s website for general access.
“The ministry and the NCA, on our own, cannot address all the issues affecting the electronic communications sector of our beloved nation; it requires the concerted efforts of all stakeholders who are duly represented in this room today,” he said.
Source: Graphic Ghana
