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Opinions of Monday, 4 November 2019

Columnist: Ohene-Mensah Elvis

Government must provide free WiFi and ban access to porn and gambling websites

Banning these sites will compel the youth to use the internet for positive engagements Banning these sites will compel the youth to use the internet for positive engagements

Gone are the days when one had to use almost every part of his or her body to accomplish a small task. In our modern world, things have changed drastically with the emergence of technology and for that matter the internet. Many nations with USA, Japan, China, Germany, South Korea etc taking the lead have made effective use of the internet.

Several decades ago, the use of the internet has contributed positively to the various sectors of most economies in the world. In the education sector, the use of the internet has encouraged, individual learning, collaboration, engagement, educational game and simulations, distance learning etc.

In business sector, the internet has brought about dramatic changes in the construction sector as well as real estate industries, communication has been made easy, there has also been enhancement in the telecommunication sectors. In agriculture the internet has taught many farmers how to apply fertilizers and preventive ways of farming and many others, hence increasing productivity.

In Ghana, though the use of the internet has been highly appreciated, most of the youth turn to use it engage in negative activities instead of positive. This to a large extent slows development in the country. Cyber fraud, money laundry, online gambling, addiction to online gaming, watching of pornography and many more have become the cloth which many of the youth put on.

Since the internet and the youth are seen to be some of the propelling wheels that move the truck of every society, It will be very appropriate for the government of Ghana to ban access to pornographic websites, gambling websites as well as tightening security in Ghana's cyberspace as in the case of China, while providing free WiFi. This in a way will compel the youth to use the internet for positive engagements.