Government has denied entering into a binding agreement with Microsoft to secure software.

Rather, government says it is considering a proposal served it by Microsoft to provide software for some state agencies for education purposes.

Minister of Communications Haruna Iddrisu said this in response to criticism that government had been committing huge funds to acquire software, ignoring open source alternatives.

Microsoft has been criticised for committing African governments into purchasing its software, denying them the chance to explore other alternatives.

But speaking to Joy News, Mr Iddrisu said government is exploring its options before concluding any such agreement.

“Government has a collaborative relationship with Microsoft to which there is an earlier MOU on the training of public servants in IT skills and IT related matters,” he told Joy FM’s Cobby Graham.

He hinted that his ministry is considering the possibility of using open source as against enterprise software from Microsoft, stressing “We will take a decision which is in the best of our national interest.”

Meanwhile an IT expert at the Kofi Annan ICT Centre, Fred Yeboah, has advocated for the use of open-source alternatives like OpenOffice - a rival to Microsoft Office – and Linux, a competitor to the Windows operating system.

He explains that other African governments are switching to his way of thinking.