The Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, says Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCs) in the region have been directed to use their second-quarter budgets to rehabilitate district ICT centres to support the implementation of the One Million Coders Programme (OMCP).
He said the move was intended to provide the necessary physical infrastructure to accommodate computers and facilitate digital skills training as the programme expands beyond the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Dr Amoakohene made the disclosure when the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, paid a courtesy call on him at the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council.
The visit formed part of Mr George’s working tour of the region to inspect One Million Coders Programme centres and telecommunications infrastructure.
According to Dr Amoakohene, the regional administration recognised the need to establish technology and information centres across the districts to ensure that the programme reaches more people.
“As we started the projects for KNUST, we also realised the need to open up information centres, technology information centres within the other districts,” he said.
He cautioned that distributing laptops without providing suitable facilities could undermine the effective implementation of the programme.
“If you hand over the laptops without that physical infrastructure, it will become another story,” he stated.
Dr Amoakohene expressed optimism that several districts would complete the rehabilitation works in the coming weeks, allowing the programme to be decentralised and bringing digital training opportunities closer to residents.
He thanked the minister for his attention to the region and said the regional administration was committed to working with the ministry to expand access to digital skills development.
The One Million Coders Programme is part of the government’s efforts to equip Ghanaians with digital skills and improve their participation in the digital economy.
