A recent report by the Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a Pan-African organization, unveiled that approximately 10.75 million Ghanaians remained offline as of the beginning of last year, as outlined in the 2023 LONDA Report on digital rights and inclusion in Africa. This represented about 31.8 percent of the country's total population of 33.80 million at the time. However, there was a notable increase in Ghana's internet penetration rate, rising from 53 percent in the preceding year to 68.2 percent in 2023.
The LONDA 2023 report encompasses insights from 26 African countries, authored by digital rights experts, and is an annual publication that monitors digital rights and inclusion across the continent. It serves as a benchmark for assessing annual performance and offers essential recommendations to enhance the digital landscape.
Thobekile Matimbe, Senior Manager of Partnerships and Engagement at PIN, unveiled the report during the closing session of the 11th Digital Rights and Inclusive Forum 2024 (DRIF24) in Accra, focusing on "Fostering Rights and Inclusion in the Digital Age." The three-day conference, co-organized by PIN and other partners, attracted numerous delegates, civil society organizations, NGOs, and academics from 61 countries worldwide.
Despite efforts such as the World Bank's approval of US$200 million for the government's Digital Acceleration Project aimed at improving internet access, a persistent digital gap remains, particularly affecting marginalized groups like women and persons with disabilities (PwDs). The report advocates for a multi-stakeholder approach to address these challenges, emphasizing internet and mobile phone affordability, collaborative efforts to report on barriers facing PwDs, and the need for comprehensive legislation safeguarding digital rights.
Recommendations include strengthening legal protections for media freedom, censorship, data privacy, and the safety of journalists, alongside efforts to protect vulnerable groups from legislation enabling censorship, surveillance, or arrests. Additionally, there's a call for updated legislation covering digital rights, including privacy protection and freedom of expression.
