By
Eunice Hilda Ampomah, GNA
Accra, Sept. 20, GNA – The Ministry of
Communications, in collaboration with StarTimes, a Chinese Multimedia company
will on September 26 launch the commencement of the nationwide ‘300 village
satellite TV project’.
According to a statement copied to the Ghana
News Agency and signed by Mrs Ursula Owusu Ekuful, Minister of Communication,
the ceremony to officially announce the start of the project will be held at
Akweibu Basic School in Dansoman, the first beneficiary community in the
Greater Accra Region.
The statement noted that, in line with
government of Ghana’s commitment to bridging the digital division between the
rural and urban areas, the ‘300 village satellite TV project’ is expected to
benefit 6,000 households selected from 300 villages nationwide.
It said the project is another giant step
aimed at helping citizens to access Television information on national and
international events and programmes that would educate and inform them as it
increases awareness and knowledge to improve their welfare.
“Apart from the 6,000 households, a number of
public areas will also be connected with satellite television service composed
of a satellite dish, a high definition set-top box and accessories while 900 public
institutions will be connected through a satellite projector TV system and
32-inch television sets” the statement noted.
According to the statement, Mr Shi Ting Wang,
China’s Ambassador-Designate to Ghana and Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the sector
Minister are expected to grace the launch slated for September 26 at the hours
of 10:00.
Mr Ting Wang said StarTimes partnership with
the Communications Ministry in the ‘300 village satellite TV project is part of
the commitment of the People’s Republic of China to deepen her long-standing
relationship with the Governments of Africa, the statement quoted him.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the
Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Mr Xi Jinping,
the China-Africa Cooperation project President said the project will give
10,000 villages in 25 African countries access to satellite television.
It noted that Mr Pang Xinxing, President of
the StarTimes Group, also observed that the China Government has entrusted the
implementation of the access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages
Project to StarTimes, to ensure that the African continent and media
development progresses to the next level in digital television broadcasting.
“To this effect, Ghana has been selected as
one of the beneficiaries.”
According to the statement, the StarTimes team
worked with the Ministry of Communications and various districts and regional
representatives to identify the 300 communities and as part of the package for
the project, the public areas in the villages will have a bouquet of 20
channels for free and 20 households will have a six month offer to enjoy over
30 channels for free.
GNA