ONLY 401,300 , Ghanaians have access to' the Internet, according' to the 2007 World Bank Report on Internet use in the world. This figure represents only 1.8 percent of the country's population of about 22 'million. The report cited Ghana as one of the African countries with the lowest record of internet patronage, coming behind South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Senegal. The President of the Ghana Association of Leaing Companies (GALCO), Mr Ernest Mintah, who made reference to the report in Accra yesterday, called for, government intervention to give more Ghanaians access to the Internet. He was speaking at the presentation of the 2008 Market Survey findings of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (SECO), International Financial Corporation (IFC) Leasing Programme Ghana. Mr Mintah expressed worry that Ghana came ahead of only Sierra Leone and Liberia, both of which had been plagued by war. According to the report, internet users in Africa were as follows: South Africa - 5,100,000; Nigeria - 5,000,000; Morocco - 4,600,000; Algeria - 1,920,000; Zimbabwe - 1,200,000; Kenya -1,111,000 Senegal with 540; 000. Sierra Leone and Liberia record¬ed the lowest internet users with l0,OOO and 1,000 respectively. Mr Mintah appealed to the government to waive taxes and duties on computer and accessories to allow for more importation of computers into the country. That, he said, was crucial to promote the use of computer and the Inter¬net in schools and workplaces. Mr Mintah stressed that the use of computer would promote teaching and learning and increase the productivity of businesses in the country. "The Information Communications Technology (ICT) is the best way to train student, while 10 to 15 per cent of companies which use computers advance faster," he said. On the issue of leasing, Mr Mintah called for a review of the laws regarding capital allowance calculation to enable capital allowances on leased assets to be claimed within the leased period. That, he said, was to make operating leases "more attractive to lessors". The leader of the SECO IFC Leasing Programme Ghana, Mr. Herbert Aidoo, said the Ghana leasing industry had experienced substantial growth in the past few years, adding that the number of leasing operators increased from seven in 2005 to 14 in 2007. He noted that bank lessors now dominated the leasing market, and made up nine out of the total 14 companies with leasing operations. The growth of the leasing market, he said, had also reflected in the value of leases booked, which increased substantially from $31.46 million in 2006 to over $93 mil¬lion in 2007. Mr Aidoo attributed the rapid growth of the leasing industry to the bank lessors, whose portfolio increased from $22 million in 2006to $71 million in 2007, registering an increase of 220 per cent. He stated that vehicles which were the most leased equipment in Ghana made up of more than 64 per cent of the total equipment financed in 2007, followed by the retail sector which contributed about 20 per cent. He added that the mining, construction and manufacturing sectors constituted approximately 35 per cent of leases, of which 80 per cent were booked in Accra. Mr Aidoo further noted that in spite of the growth in the leasing market, a thorough analysis and observation of the market indicated that the demand for leasing in Ghana could be higher. Source: Daily Graphic