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Accra (Greater Accra), 3rd November 99
Twenty-four hours after the opening of the fourth Ghana International Information Technology Fair, dubbed Infotech '99, exhibitors and organisers say they are satisfied with the level of visitation.
They have, therefore, expressed the hope that by the close of the fair, patronage would have been high to be worth while.
A visit to the various stands of the 40 exhibitors show that apart from one exhibitor, who is yet to clear his products from the port, all the other 39 exhibitors have fully set up and are doing business.
Various players in the information technology sector including decision makers, practitioners, chief executives of some local and foreign companies as well as students from some tertiary and computers training institutes are visiting the various stands in their numbers.
Meanwhile some exhibitors have introduced new products that are to be formally launched during and after the fair.
Some of the new products include Gateway by Sambus Computer, Twinhead by Twentieth Century Company Limited and others, which have special features such as high speed, portability, silent alarm and others relevant to the local business community.
Mr. Prince Quarcoo, Commercial Manager of the Ghana Trade Fair Company (GTFC) organisers of the fair, told the GNA that Infotech '99 is a specialised fair, which does not necessarily need general public visitation to be considered successful.
He noted that most of the exhibitors have invited their customers to visit and patronise their products at subsidised rates during the fair.
"We, however, hope parents will bring their wards along at the week-end to have a first hand knowledge about computers, internet and other technologies that will rule the world in the twenty first century."
He announced that Twentieth Century Company will do an Internet demonstration on Friday and called on students and the youth to visit the fair and take advantage of the opportunity to know what the Internet is about.
Mr Quarcoo advised exhibitors to protect their wares well, saying "we have identified some crooks on the fair ground, who are only in to make away with cellular phones and other hand sets."
He expressed disappointment that none of the major telecommunication companies in the country is taking part in the Ghana International Information Technology Fair (Infotech) currently underway at the Trade Fair Site in Accra.
Ghana Telecommunication Company (Ghana Telecom), and Western Telesystems Limited (Westel), Ghana's major telecommunication operators, are not at the fair.
Cellular telephone service providers; Mobitel Ghana Limited, Scancom Ghana Limited (Spacefon) and Celtel are also not present.
The national office of Year 2000 Compliance (Y2K) is also not participating in the fair.
Mr. Quarcoo said some of the companies including Spacefon attributed their absence to financial constraints.
He, however, said some of the companies made financial contributions towards the fair. Spacefon donated three million cedis while Ghana Telecom gave two million cedis.
Mobitel, Celtel and Westel did not contribute anything.
GRi