Ghana

At Akyem-Tafo Nobi, you must climb a tree to receive a phone call

Sunday, May 16, 2021 at 8:47 PM by Nii Ayi Ayitey

- Checks by Yen at the Akyem-Tafo Nobi district shows a lack of mobile telephony

- Residents there climb trees and hills just to receive network connection

- This development has affected trade activity there

A February 2020 research by Statistica indicates that mobile connection penetration rate was estimated to reach 140 percent in 2020 alone.

Yes, Ghana is chalking strides in internet penetration and the liberalization of the telecommunications market, but there are outstanding shortfalls when it comes to rural and underserved communities.

At Akyem-Tafo Nobi, you must climb a tree to receive a phone call — The hilly fray of Akyem-Tafo Nobi (Photo: Yen.com.gh)
Source: Original

Upon a visit to a farming community at Akyem Tafo Nobi in the Abuakwa North Constituency of the Eastern Region, farmers feel helpless as the trade of foodstuff with buyers across other towns truncate due to poor data and call service.

Yen.com.gh visited the township and saw first-hand the extent to which foodstuffs have been left to rot at the edge of the streets as farmers are disconnected from their buyers all due to bad data and call service.

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Below is a transcript of the entire narration of events as they occurred:

Yen.com.gh narrative

It is morning – the start of a busy farming day for Daniel Tetteh – known here at the Nobi Village of Atsem Tafo Nobi in the Eastern Region as Dademantse – King of the farmers.

Daniel Tetteh:

Hello, Hello, can you hear me – this Network is very bad, hello, hello…

Yen.com.gh narrative

Now, this is the cost of living here at Atsem Tafo Nobi. With no network, farmers are cut from all forms of mobile telephony - a troubling development amid the Coronavirus Pandemic when information is very key.

Daniel Tetteh:

The network is very bad. It’s really been a worry to us. It’s been this way for a long way.

FARMER:

I have lived here for the past 30 years. I am a farmer. I go through a lot just to place a simple phone call. Oftentimes, I have to climb up a tree to make a call. I fall at times, but I have no choice.

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Yen.com.gh narrative

Driving through the dusty and hilly streets of this farming community, we found white sacks of fresh garden eggs littered everywhere. Sadly, buyers are eagerly waiting at other townships to buy them but a terrible network has grounded all trading activity.

Resident:

Conveying our farm produce to the market is a big challenge to us.

Yen.com.gh narrative

Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has announced that the government is in the process of rolling out the Rural Telephony Initiative to extend voice and data services to all unserved and underserved rural communities by the end of 2020.

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful:

Using our Universal Access Fund in partnership with the private sector to extend connectivity to the rural, unserved and underserved communities.

This year alone, we have constructed 400 rural telephony sites with 80 repeated stations and connected almost 2 million people.

Conclusion

Ghana is focusing on improving the efficiency of service delivery with particular reference to rural and underserved communities, women and gender parity and opportunities for the youth through the nurturing of new businesses, creation of job opportunities, facilitation of ICT-based entrepreneurship and securing our cyber space for the realization of the SDGs.