Posts and Telecommunications Minister Dr. Frederick Norkeh, has stressed the need for  every Liberian to pay a role in ensuring that the use of Information Communication Technology or ICT does not endanger road safety. He called on policymakers to ensure that Information Communication Technology facilitates the realization of Liberia’s goal instead of undermining it.

Speaking at a joint program marking the celebration of World Telecommunications and Information Society Day (WTISD) and Telecommunications Consumers Parliament Forum in Gbarnga Bong County on Friday May 17, 2013, the Postmaster General said as Liberia strives to raise the standard of life her people through policy initiatives such as the Agenda for Transformation, the ICT sector should be taken seriously.

Dr. Norkeh, who spoke on the theme, “ICTs and improving road safety,” said the International Telecommunication Union or ITU as an embodiment of the United Nations has been at cutting edge of information and communication technologies, defining and adopting the globally agreed technical standards that have allowed industries to interconnect people and equipment seamlessly around the world.

At the same time, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Telecommunications, Senator John Ballout of Maryland County, who also spoke at the occasion, called for competition in the telecom sector in Liberia.

The Senator said with competition among service providers in the sector,  consumers will benefit. Ballout urged service providers to treat consumers respect in everything they do. He also urged service providers to extend services to rural Liberia to enable citizens there to join the ICT world.

Ballout, who was named Flomo by a Kpelleh Chief for his advocacy on behalf of rural dwellers to have access to ICT services, thanked the Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA) for forming the consumers’ parliament. He said with the consumer parliament, the voices of those doing business with service providers in the country will be encouraged to interact with the LTA.