An  Empirical  Study  of  the Development, Deployment and the Exploitation of ICTs in Ghana

 

 

Professor Clement Dzidonu

Senior Research Fellow, INIIT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© 2002, International Institute for Information Technology (INIIT)

 

 

 

Preface

 

 

In most African countries there is a serious lack of basic information on key ICT and related economic and social indicators as well as on ICT related activities and on the impact of ICT policy decisions and plans.  The SCAN-ICT project – an initiative of the International Development Research Center (IDRC) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is designed to: build support for the phased development of a comprehensive African capability to collect and manage information on key ICT-related indicators to support the growing investment in ICTs as well as the transition of Africa to an information society.

 

The premise is that: the availability of these types of  information and better access to them will improve decision making at all levels, as well as aid the process of monitoring and evaluation of the impact of ICT activities, policies and plans  and facilitate R&D work appropriate to the Africa region. In addition, Scan‑ICT project is designed to provide an opportunity to build capacity in Africa to influence ICT investments, to extend their impact, and to encourage the development of Africa solutions, applications and content. The goal is to create a pan‑African ICT network, connecting all levels of ICT related issues, which will be co-ordinated and supported by national SCAN-ICT nodes.

 

The project is being implemented in two phases: the pilot phase and the full implementation phase.  The pilot phase of the project involves five African countries namely: Ghana, Uganda, Senegal, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Morocco. The International Institute for Information Technology (INIIT) has been selected to serve as the country implementation and coordination agency for the Ghana Scan-ICT Pilot study.

 

This report documents the details of the research output of the Ghana Scan-ICT pilot study – The Ghana study was implemented in two stages: (i) the design stage, and (ii) the implementation stage. The design stage concentrated on the development of the methodology  --- constituting a detailed design of the necessary processes, inputs and tools required for the data and information gathering, processing and presentation exercise. The implementation stage was devoted to the actual data collection/gathering and analysis based on the details of the methodology.

 

The Report is divided into two parts: Part One concentrates of the Study Methodology and Implementational issues; with Part Two devoted to details of the study documented in eleven chapters.

 

 

Part One

 

THE STUDY METHODOLOGY AND IMPLEMENTATIONAL ISSUES

 

 

 

 

THE GHANA SCAN-ICT METHODOLOGY AND TOPOLOGY

 

 

The Premise of the Methodology

 

The Ghana pilot Scan-ICT project, forms part of a 6-nation initiative under the auspices of the International Development Research Center (IDRC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The other countries participating in this African-wide initiative are: Uganda, Morocco, Ethiopia, Senegal and Mozambique.

 

The Ghana pilot project was based on a comprehensive methodology, developed to guide the data gathering and analysis exercise. The premise underlying the development of this methodology is that: given the long-term nature of the Scan-ICT project, it was found necessary to develop a detailed design of the underlying processes, procedures and the required tools to facilitate the implementation process – involving  data collection, analysis and presentation of the study results

 

The outputs of the detailed design phase apart from serving as a means for facilitating the implementation process also serves as a key output of the Ghana Scan-ICT project --- being implemented in two stages: (i) the design stage involving the design of the details of the methodology and (ii) the implementation stage involving data collection/gathering and analysis.

 

The Methodology

 

For each of the specific indicators under each of the Scan-ICT theme --- the methodology  provided specific details in relation to:

 

(i) the relevant information to be collected/gathered;

 

(ii) the possible sources of the relevant information to be gathered;

 

(iii) the methods to be used for obtaining or gathering the required information;

 

(iv) the relevant types of questionnaire to be used in cases where a postal survey or a face-to-face interview is required and

 

(v) the format in which the information gathered as per each indicator is to be presented or summarized.

 

Three main types of questionnaire have been designed as part of the detailed Methodology, these include:

 

(i) graphical-based questionnaire; --- these are used for face-to-face interviews;

 

(ii) standard (text-based) questionnaires, ---- which were used for both face-to-face interviews and  postal questionnaires and

 

(iii) electronic-based questionnaires --- which are transmitted to target samples via e-mail.

 

The graphically-based, the text-based and the electronic-based questionnaires were all field tested using a sample from each of the targeted populations. These target populations include:

 

(i) the public sector institutions and establishments (Government Ministries, Agencies and Departments; Public Sector Organizations, Local, Regional and District organizations and institutions etc)

 

(ii) the private sector establishments and institutions; (small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), large private enterprises etc)

 

(iii) schools (public and private primary and secondary schools);

 

(iv) universities, colleges and polytechnics;

 

(v) ICT (computer) companies, institutions and establishments including computer equipment  vendors, retailers and distributors, software developers, retailers and distributors; computer training centers and institutions, computer systems development and support companies and establishments, communications centers and Telecenters;  ISPs, Telecom Operators, Gateway/Broadband Service Providers and other Internet-based Service Providers

 

(vi) Hospitals, Clinics and Health Centers.

 

It is envisaged that the questionnaires and the other tools developed for use in the pilot project will be refined based on the outcome of the pilot project for use in the follow-up main Scan-ICT project.

 

  

 

 

 

The Topology of the Methodology

 

Presented below is a summary of the Topology of the Scan-ICT Methodology detailing for each of the Scan-ICT themes relevant details relating to each of the specific indicators. Also indicated for some of the indicators is information relating to the fact that they are to be ‘estimated’ using relevant primary or/and secondary data since by their very nature, information relation to them cannot be obtained directly.

 

 

Specific Indicators	Type of Information	Possible Source of Information	Method of Gathering Information	Type of Questionnaire Used	Method/Format of Presentation of Information Obtained
Demographic
q       Population q       Population growth q       Population distribution by geographic area (including rural vs. urban) q       Population distrib. by age q       Educational levels q       Household patterns	Secondary	Ghana Statistical Service (GSS)   – Statistical Bulletins	Desk Research	N.A	Untabulated-Data
Economic
q       GDP (per capita, sectoral distribution, etc) q       Unemployment rate q       Inflation q       Debt q       Principal exports and imports q       Income distribution (poverty levels, etc) q       Others…	Secondary	GSS – Statistical Bulletins	Desk Research	N.A	Untabulated-Data
Political
q       Political system q       Party in power (ideology) q       Historical context	Secondary	GSS – Statistical Bulletins	Desk Research	N.A	Narrative-Free Text
Cultural
q       Principal religions and their distribution q       Principal languages (local and foreign) and their distribution	Secondary	GSS – Statistical Bulletins	Desk Research	N.A	Narrative   - Free Text

 

A.   Infrastructure

 

 

 

 

A.1.1. Transport Infrastructure

 

Specific Indicators	Type of Information	Possible Source of Information	Method of Gathering Information	Type of Questionnaire Used	Method/Format of Presentation of Information Obtained
Transport
q       Roads Network q       Railways Network q       Water Transportation System q       Air Transport	Secondary	GSS Bulletin Ministry of Transport	· Tel. Survey/Enquiry · Desk Research	N.R [Not Required]	Narrative   - Free Text   Untabulated-Data

 

A.1.1. Telephony

 

Specific Indicators	Type of Information	Possible Source of Information	Method of Gathering Information	Type of Questionnaire Used	Method/Format of Presentation of Information Obtained
Telephone
Teledensity statistics (including average number of people per telephone)	Secondary	· ITU Bulletins · Telecom Operators ·  NCA (National Communications Authority)	· Tel. Survey/Enquiry · Desk Research · FtF Interview	N.R [Not Required]	Untabulated-Data
Geographic proximity to a telephone, i.e. +/- 5kms or walking distance (Total and %)	Secondary Estimate	· ITU Bulletins · Telecom Operators · NCA	· Tel. Survey/Enquiry · Desk Research · FtF Interview	N.R [Not Required]	Untabulated-Data
Telephone communication charges: Average cost distributed be either local, international, business and domestic, differential (USD and % of GDP per capita )	Secondary Estimate	· ITU Bulletins · Telecom Operators · NCA	· Tel. Survey/Enquiry · Desk Research · FtF Interview	N.R [Not Required]	Narrative   - Free Text Untabulated-Data Data – Tabular/Spreadsheet Graphical  --- Charts Summary/Basic Analysis of Info.
Telephone connectivity: mapping and distribution (by government, private sector, international orgs, NGOs, rural vs. urban, age and sex; and by domestic, business or public access)	Secondary Estimate	· ITU Bulletins · Telecom Operators ·  NCA	· Tel. Survey/Enquiry · Desk Research · FtF Interview	N.R [Not Required]	Data – Tabular/Spreadsheet Graphical  --- Charts Summary/Basic Analysis of Info.
Average duration of  Telephone usage per year	Secondary Estimate	· ITU Bulletins · Telecom Operators ·  NCA	· Tel. Survey/Enquiry · Desk Research · FtF Interview	N.R [Not Required]	Untabulated-Data .
Failure rate	Secondary Estimate	· ITU Bulletins · Telecom Operators ·  NCA	· Tel. Survey/Enquiry · Desk Research · FtF Interview	N.R [Not Required]	Untabulated-Data
Time to repair	Secondary Estimate	· ITU Bulletins · Telecom Operators ·  NCA	· Tel. Survey/Enquiry · Desk Research · FtF Interview	N.R [Not Required]	Untabulated-Data .
Telecenters
Description & Topology	Primary	General Literature	Literature Survey & Desk Research	N.R [Not Required]	Narrative   - Free Text .
Number of telecenters (Total and % of total and per 1000)	Primary Estimate	General Research	Literature Survey & Desk Research	N.R [Not Required]	Untabulated-Data .
Telecenter phone charges	Primary Estimate	· ITU Bulletins · Telecom Operators ·  NCA · Tele/Comms Cters	· Tel. Survey/Enquiry · Desk Research · FtF Interview	N.R [Not Required]	Untabulated-Data
Operators