Aside from providing a wide array of services to Ghana’s population, telecommunications firms in the country play significant roles in developing the West African nation’s economy.
One of such roles is in helping Ghana tackle the problem posed by unemployment. This the companies have done by the provision of means of livelihood for close to 1.5 million Ghanaians, according to a report by Ghana’s Chamber of Telecommunications.
The report showed that telecoms firms operating in Ghana are helping the nation combat the unemployment menace by providing various categories of jobs — directly and indirectly.
The chamber further revealed that, aside from the telecoms operators contributing a lot to the nation’s flourishing economy, they are also making the sector more competitive compared with other key sectors of the economy.
The report, which is in line with another report that was released by Ghana Statistical Service, also stated that the telecoms industry in the former Gold Coast nation has become a key driver of the nation’s economic growth.
According to Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), on the overall, the telecoms sector has directly accounted for 7 percent of investments in Ghana, 10 percent of government income and 2 percent of GDP.
In the view of experts in the nation’s telecoms industry, there have been several investments in several subsectors such as broadband, and optical fibres are currently being laid across the country.
In addition, most of the companies are expanding their network across the country, especially into rural areas and hinterlands that are presently poorly covered.
These steps, they said, will further increase the sector’s contributions to the economy since more people will be employed. There will also be more subscribers and the revenue accruing to the government from the sector will also increase considerably in the nearest future.
