Owen W. & Darkwa O. (2001) Role of Multipurpose Community Telecentres in Accelerating National Development in Ghana,  in First Monday 5[1]

Online: http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_1/owen/index.html

The article after giving an overview of the ICT sector in Ghana, describes the telecentre development in the country. The author divided telencentres into two broad cathegories:

• Commercially-Oriented Communication Centres: providing basic communication services such as telephones, fax and photocopying and secretarial as well as computer-based services.
• and Community/education-oriented communication centres: providing basic services to address the needs of a given community. Aims of these centres are: to  tap the untapped potential of the people they serve, to organize resources and expertise nationwide, to foster the emergence of local capability, and to promote a unique and comprehensive approach to servicing the multiple needs of people they serve through the innovative use IT.

The author claims that a narrow range of services is offered by telecentres which tend to offer services for which people is willing to pay for and the need for the government of Ghana and donors to foster markets for those services where there is weak commercial demand.