Sakori (NE/R)-Ghana, Nov 11, GNA – Sakori and its environs including Fungu, and Fio in the North East Region have no telecommunication network, which adversely affects basic human activities of residents.
Residents of these communities are unable to reach out to other people over the phone, access emergency services, or engage in routine business transactions.
Services of all networks are inaccessible in these communities except for MTN, which is available in the Fio community but only accessible under two trees, which are distant apart.
The absence of a reliable network has cast a shadow over the community affecting various aspects of daily life.
Some of the residents told the Ghana News Agency how the network issues had left them isolated from other parts of the country.
Mr Iddrisu Mohammed, a resident of Fio, said their mobile phones were of no use in the community, adding that they were neither able to communicate with loved ones nor access timely information on national issues.
He said the situation made residents vulnerable and threatened their safety as they were unable to make urgent calls when necessary.
Mr Abdul Kadir Yakubu, a mobile money vendor in the area, said his shop had been closed due to the network challenges, adding that he served customers under the trees where network was accessible.
He said “The network problem is affecting business. Even under the two trees, network is not available at all times.”
Mr Mohammed Tia Yahaya, Assembly Man of the area, said attempts over the years to resolve the network challenges proved futile.
He said, “We get network under two trees because MTN provided the area with two small poles, but this is obviously not enough.”
Meanwhile, the government, as part of interventions to extend basic telephony voice and data connectivity to all parts of the country, launched the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion project, which is a €155-million project being implemented by the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation.
Though the project was aimed at promoting digital inclusion in the country, communities such as Sakori, Fungu, Fio, among others could not access basic phone voice and data connectivity.
