Japan assists GNA with equipment

Accra (Greater Accra) 27 Nov '98

The Japanese embassy today signed a 33,004 dollar ( over 76 million cedis) grant agreement with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to enable it to replace some of its broken down communications equipment. Mr Eiichi Suzuki, Charge d'Affaires, signed on behalf of the embassy while Mr Sam Quaicoe, General Manager of the GNA, signed for the agency. The emergency grant would enable the GNA to buy 10 personal computers with peripherals, three units of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), five fax machines and five air conditioners. Mr Suzuki underscored the importance of information to development and said the GNA, which provides most of the nation's information needs, must be fully equipped to meet its cardinal principles of speed and accuracy. "Information is vital for the running of any institution, whether governmental, public or private. We get our daily news to be able to work around what is going on from the information gathered and disseminated throughout the nations of the world via such agencies. "It is, therefore, very important that the provider of such services be adequately equipped to do so". In view of this, Mr Suzuki said the GNA's appeal for support was considered as an emergency under the Japanese government's Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects, reducing the usually long period for the consideration of such appeals from over a year to one month. Mr Quaicoe expressed his gratitude for the support which he said would help to "bring the agency out of the doldrums". The GNA has made several appeals for assistance since its computer network broke down in November, last year. Though the technical section of the agency has improvised a simple system, the operations of the agency has slowed down considerably. Mr Quaicoe said though government is considering the proposal the Japanese support would in the meantime facilitate news delivery from the regional and district offices to the head office. In 1991, UNESCO helped the GNA to computerise its operations and provided it with 33 personal computers among other equipment. However, after seven years, most of the equipment have broken Down.