download logoThe NPP Vice President and Flag Bearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has stressed that digitalization is having a huge impact on the country’s development after seven years of investment in the sector by the NPP government.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 75th Annual New Year School by the University of Ghana, Dr. Bawumia said that upon his assumption of office in 2017, it is imperative to focus on modernizing the Ghanaian economy through digitalisation, which has resulted in: He said that. To convey.
“When I took office, my goal was to rapidly transform the economy by leapfrogging the development process, overcoming legacy problems, and leveraging technological innovation as a means to improve governance in both the economy and the public sector. Our government’s focus is on building new systems through digital transformation. ”
Since 2017, Ghana’s digitalization drive has led to the development of a national biometric system, real estate address system, mobile money interoperability between all telephone networks and financial institutions, DVLA, passport offices, NHIS services, and government services in port operations. has been successfully digitized. , delivery of essential medicines by drone, etc.
Dr Bawumia noted that these interventions are not only making things easier for Ghanaians, but are also having a positive impact on governance.
“It is worth mentioning that our investments in the digitalization of the economy are yielding remarkable results,” Dr. Bawumia said.
“Our focus on digitalization is to build an efficient digital platform for government business and deepen financial inclusion.”
Dr. Bawumia, who is also the flag bearer for the NPP in the 2024 elections, cited a number of intergenerational issues that Ghana is helping to solve by focusing on digitalization, including the eradication of identity; He said these issues are being resolved through the Ghana Card.
He also pointed out the lack of a working address system in Ghana, which he said the introduced real estate address system was helping to solve.
On financial exclusion, which was large-scale before the introduction of mobile money interoperability, the Vice President said that many Ghanaians who did not have bank accounts and were excluded from the financial equation are now among millions of Ghanaians. He pointed out that it was included because people are part of financial services. Enabling the equation through mobile money interoperability.
Dr Bawumia also said that an approach to improving public service delivery that “minimizes human contact as much as possible” is helping to fight corruption and increasing government revenue.
The Vice President noted that in 2017, the Passport Department processed a total of 16,232 applications with a revenue of GHC1.1 million and how the same Passport Department processed 498,963 online applications in 2021 with the introduction of digitalisation. This claim was supported by pointing out how the process was carried out. , the total revenue is GHC 56.7 million.
The University of Ghana’s annual New Year School brings together stakeholders from various sectors at the beginning of each year to discuss issues of national development and global interest.
Dr. Bawumia spoke on this year’s theme: “Cultivating Resilience: Embracing Technology and Embracing Humanism for Sustainable Development.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the Office of the President of the Republic of Ghana.