| Joseph Anokye | |
| Office: | Head of National Communications Authority |
| Predecessor: | William Matthew Tevie |
| President: | Nana Akuffo-Addo |
| Successor: | Incumbent |
| Party: | New Patriotic Party |
| Birth Place: | Ghana |
| Nationality: | Ghanaian |
| Alma Mater: | Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology University of Maryland University College |
| Occupation: | Civil servant |
| Profession: | Geodetic engineer |
Mr. Joe Anokye is a Telecommunication Executive well versed in a wide range of Telecommunication Operations Management, Telecommunication Networks, National Security, and Cyber Security platforms in both public and private sectors. As a talented and accomplished Technology Executive, he has a proven ability to successfully direct and manage major and key information technology, telecommunications, and technology support services operations from inception to completion.
In November 2023, Mr. Anokye delivered three (3) lectures at the 12th R.P. Baafour Memorial Lectures at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. The lecture series, established in honour of the first Vice Chancellor of KNUST, was held under the theme, "KNUST After 70: A New Age for a Renewed Focus in an Era of Disruptive Technologies".To climax the Lectures, Mr. Anokye was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree (DSc. Honoris causa) at a special congregation on 24th November, 2023,[1] in recognition of his significant contributions to Ghana's Telecommunication Industry and his insightful presentation as the speaker of the 12th edition of the Lecture.
He is a member of the New Patriotic Party and the current Director General of the National Communications Authority of Ghana.[2]
Anokye holds a Bachelor of Science in Geodetic Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland University College, College Park, MD USA.[3]
In August 2019, he was awarded a Certificate of Senior Executives in National and International Security Programmes from the prestigious John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Executive Education,USA.
Between 1994 through 1997, Mr. Anokye worked as Senior Network Engineer at the United States Postal Service (USPS) Headquarters, Washington DC. His team of network engineers designed, installed, and maintained the USPS Wide Area Network and Local Area Network.
Beginning September 1997, when he was employed at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GFSC),[4] [5] through the end of NASA's Space Shuttle Program in July 2011, Mr. Anokye supported forty-nine (49) Space Shuttle Missions: from the 87th mission (STS-86) in September 1997, to the 135th mission (STS-135) which was last Space Shuttle mission in July 2011. His team, the NASA (Ground) Communications System (NASCOM) was the central nervous system that managed the terrestrial communications between ground stations, mission control centers, and other elements of spacecraft ground segments. Established in 1964, NASCOM also interfaced with the Deep Space Network (DSN), and provided worldwide, near real-time, transmission of commands, telemetry, voice, and television signals. NASCOM managed the NASA Global Mission Telecommunication Wide Area Network out of Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Mr. Anokye received the employee of the year award in the year 2007 from the NASA Information Technology Services (UNITeS) contract at Marshal Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville - Alabama, for outstanding technical services to the NASA Mission Telecommunications Network.[6] He worked at NASA GSFC until January 2016 when he returned to Ghana.
Mr. Anokye was a premier Cisco Technical Instructor from the year 1999 through 2016 in the Washington D.C, USA Metropolitan Area. Having attained Cisco Certified Internetwork Engineer Number 6642 (CCIE #6624) in the year 2000, he taught and mentored many Telecommunications, Network, and Systems engineers. Many of his trained network engineering professionals work with Government, Security and Civilian Agencies, State and local Governments, telecommunications companies (Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, etc), Banks, financial institutions, regulatory and compliance and many more.[7]
In February 2016, Mr. Anokye returned to Ghana after working with NASA for nineteen (19) years.[8] He was appointed the Director of Technology for the New Patriotic Party (NPP)[9] 2016 Presidential Elections Campaign. It was during this time that he developed the elections results management software that allowed for the quick and correct tallying of the Presidential and parliamentary results in the 2016 General Elections in Ghana. The systems allowed the NPP to accurately predict the outcome of the 2016 Ghanaian general elections less than eight (8) hours after polls were closed.[10] [11] The predictions were published days before the conclusion of the official tabulation by the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana but was consistent with the EC's results when it was finally released.
During the 2020 General Elections, Mr. Anokye was again appointed the Director of Technology and Digital Operations in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential and Parliamentary Campaign. As a member of the National Campaign Team, he was responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Technology unit for the 2020 campaign. He designed the infrastructure that successfully and timeously collated the presidential and parliamentary elections results of the General Elections 2020.[12]
After the 2016 general elections in Ghana, several media houses, political agents and commentators expressed concerns about the tallying of the election results. These suspicions were based on comments made by the chairperson of Ghana's election commission, Charlotte Osei. The chairperson announced to the country that the commission's electronic vote transmission system had been hacked into. She asserted that due to the hack the final results could be compromised.[13] Based on what Anokye had been doing for the New Patriotic Party, certain sections of the Ghanaian public believed that he was at the heart of the hacking allegation.[14] [15] Seven months after the elections, the People's National Convention revealed plans to formally petition the right authorities to investigate the claims of the electoral commission chair. Some opposition political party members believed that the unwillingness by the New Patriotic Party to investigate the issue was because the party had benefited from any hacking that had gone on. The allegations against Anokye have not been proven; some Ghanaians believe that the whole allegation was being used as a coverup to the election loss of the National Democratic Congress.[16]
In January 2017, the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, appointed Anokye as Director General of the National Communications Authority[17] [18] to replace William Matthew Tevie, whose term as Director General had ended. His appointment was welcomed by several players in the communication sector of Ghana, including the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications.[19] His position as the Director General of the Authority gives him an automatic seat on the National Communications Authority Board.[20] Upon becoming the Director General of the Authority, Anokye embarked on sanitising the Ghanaian airwaves by making sure media houses operate within the stipulated guidelines.[21] [22] In September 2017, the Authority sanctioned 131 media houses, threatening to close some of them due to violations.[23] [24] As Director General of the Authority, Anokye reports to the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation.[25]