The Acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Information, Lily Fati Soale, has commended the head and entire team of the National Information Contact Centre (NICC), also known as INFO 311, for their dedication in gathering timely public feedback to support government policy and advance the Ministry’s mandate. Ms. Soale praised the staff’s commitment to keeping the center operational despite challenging working conditions.
She made these remarks when she paid a visit to management and staff at the Information Centre at the Accra Digital Center. Interacting with the staff of the Centre, Ms. Soale explained that, beyond informing the public, the Ministry of Information aims to secure direct, real-time feedback from citizens to better shaped policy and improve information dissemination.
The visit presented an opportunity for her to familiarize herself with the operations and challenges of the facility and also to interact with the entire staff of the Centre. According to her, this insight will enable management to identify the facility’s strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement to ensure it plays its role effectively.
The Manager of the NICC, Emmanuel Rexford Kofi Asante, highlighted the center’s potential as an information and intelligence hub for the government. He revealed that the centre is integrated with the National Security Command Center allowing it to gather and communicate information from community, district, regional, and national levels.
Mr. Kofi Asante, indicated that INFO 311 became essential in Ghana’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, serving as the nation’s very first COVID-19 information contact center and also during the aftermath of the Akosombo Dam Spillage that resulted in severe flooding in various communities in October and November 2023. However, he regretted that the Centre was no longer functioning fully because of resources and operational challenges.
“We used to receive over 1000 calls in a day but now most of the calls are prank calls,” he said.
He detailed the center’s core mission to provide accurate, timely information to the public, respond to public inquiries, and support the Ministry’s communication goals. The facility currently operates as a call center and offers web services, email response management, live webchat, social media support, research, and monitoring services.
The Manager appealed to the Ministry to allocate a budget for the centre to resume full operations.
Source: MOI (PR Unit)
