Ghana Domain Name Registry unhappy with Ghana’s Internet domain ‘hijack’

The Reverend Dr. Nanayaa Tina Owusu Prempeh, Board Chair, Ghana Domain Name Registry (GDNR), has expressed displeasure over the ‘hijack’ of “.gh domain” registry by Ghana.com.

The displeasure follows the takeover of the .gh domain by a private individual for the past 27 years.

The Board Chair said the situation had made it impossible for more Ghanaians to have access to the Internet space, which would eventually generate more profit for the country and provide security for Internet users.

“Let me tell you what, this discussion has become like a taboo in the industry, but I have broken the ice, I am the Board Chair for Ghana Domain Registry, it is my responsibility to make sure that redelegation is done, completed so that you can have access to .gh. I can have access to the .gh and the nation can benefit all as well.

“But we have an individual in Ghana, who has sat on it for 27 years like a god sitting on it and making things difficult for redelegation to be done, that is the bottom-line.

“I’m not going to sugar coat it, that is the bottom-line…”

Reverend Dr. Nanayaa Tina Owusu Prempeh said this at the Second Edition of the 2023 Domain Name System (DNS) Forum.

The forum, which was on the theme: “Advancing DNS in Ghana: Challenges and Opportunities for a secure and thriving local Internet”, brought together diverse group of stakeholders, including ICT/DNS experts, government representatives, local and international policymakers, domain name registrars, and registrants, to discuss the latest trends in the DNS ecosystem and their impact on emerging technologies.

She said the reason why GDNR was established under the Electronic Transactions Act of 2008 was to, among other things, administer and manage the country’s domain (Internet) name space.

She, however, indicated that the Board had not been able to perform that function because an individual had refused to release the domain name.

“There has been no forward movement. We only attend Board meetings and only getting our fees, for me I’m very uncomfortable with that because I believe we must move forward.”

She said the situation had affected the country to the extent that Ghana with its 30 million population had only one registrar while Rwanda, which had 13.6 million people had 70 registrars.

She said that had affected the profit that the country was supposed to make from the Internet space and asked stakeholders in the sector to help fix the challenge.

Source: GNA

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