Tema-Ghana, April 27, CDA Consult – Tema, according to the President of Celltel Networks Limited, is a prosperous city in its own right, with “the largest harbour in the country, a well-planned city, industries, the majority of quality workers in Ghana, and the Greenwich, among other things.”
Celltel Networks Limited President Dr. Prince Kofi Kludjeson stated that his company was discussing with officials how to effectively transform Tema into a smart city, stating that very ancient structures could be transformed into modern ones and that every home must have wifi and other modern amenities.
He stated that the importance of having such technical provisions in households and industries cannot be overstated because they will benefit productivity, education, health, and other elements of life, as well as the economy of Tema and Ghana as a whole.
Dr. Kludjeson, Chief Technical Advisor of the Centre for Greater Impact Africa (CGIA), was presenting on the topic “The New Global Economy and Technological Education” at the Ghana News Agency-Tema Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue platform in Tema.
The GNA Tema Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue is a media think-tank venue for state and non-state actors, as well as commercial and business players, to communicate and address global concerns.
Celltel Networks Limited’s President has urged for collaboration among Tema’s varied business and government entities in order to transform the port and industrial metropolis into a smart city.
“To transform Tema into a smart city, TDC Development Company, TMA, businesses, and even citizens must work together.” “Dubai used to be a desert, but it was transformed into what it is today,” he explains.
Over the years, Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) chief executives have come up with a slew of slogans and goals aimed at improving Tema, with some verging on “restoration agenda” and “make Tema shine again,” among others.
When MCEs leave office, however, their goals of restoring Tema to its former glory may become unattainable, either due to the loss of their party in an election or the current president’s incapacity to re-nominate them.
According to Dr. Kludjeson, Past President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), in order to cure such unrealistic measures, the TMA must involve every institution in Tema in the planning and decision-making process in order to transform Tema into a smart city like Dubai.
He argued that genuine growth and change would be hard to achieve until that was achieved, adding that while mayors were extremely important in some areas and could accomplish a great deal, MCEs in Ghana found it difficult to accomplish much on their own due to the political nature of MCEs.
Dr. Kludjeson, for example, argued that while strong policies such as one million dollars per district may have helped Tema thrive, MCEs were hampered since such financing, among other things, never materialised.
He feels sorry for Tema now that he understands what it was like before, and he adds that the harbour and industrial city had all they needed to be more glamorous and prosperous than they are now.
The adoption of a comprehensive plan for digital growth, according to Reverend Dr. Samuel Worlanyo Mensah, Executive Director of the Centre of Greater Impact Africa, will give the impetus for the country to catch up with the rest of the world.
He believed that the internet economy might quickly address the nation’s unemployment problem.
Dr. Mensah went on to say that the employment structure in the technical environment was vast and could thus be used to address the country’s developmental deficiencies.
