Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is optimistic critics of the digitisation agenda will in the coming years sing the praises of government for transforming Ghana.
According to him, the good work government has commenced will be appreciated by Ghanaians when the impacts of digitisation become more widespread.
In a recent feature in the February edition of PAV Magazine, Dr Bawumia noted that government is unperturbed about the criticisms currently hurled against it.
He however refuted the assertion that government’s digitisation agenda is incoherent.
“In politics, criticism from opposing parties and their supporters is to be expected and you need to have a tough skin to just get on with delivering the people’s priorities. As such, whilst I welcome robust debate, the cornerstone of any successful democracy, I strongly disagree with the notion that the digitisation agenda is incoherent, and I am sure that the programme will result in a transformed Ghana…
“We are pursuing a very coherent digitisation strategy. In sum, I have no doubt that as the impacts of digitisation become more widespread, criticism will turn to praise.”
Vice President Bawumia’s comments come after an IT expert, Ambrose Yennah warned of the collapse of the digitalisation agenda if financial support and other resources are not provided to shape and transform the technology industry.
Also, Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, had said the execution of some digital initiatives has shown a lack of policy coherence.
“There are some bright spots, but taken as a whole, it’s not transformative. In some respect, it’s actually quite problematic. There are instances where I fear because it’s so hyper-branded and the political stakes are so high.”
“I think the policy coherence is important, and for these big initiatives that we are talking about, there are internal contradictions that fuel the cynicism. It’s almost as if they were genuinely doing this in good faith,” he said on Citi TV.
Meanwhile, Dr Bawumia has noted that the use of the Ghana Card and its integration with other databases will see a major reduction in fraud and petty crime.
Again, the Vice President said the Ghana Card will connect those who had once “slipped through the net with essential government services, financial institutions more readily identifiable when they travel domestically or even abroad.”
He stated that while Ghana has made dramatic advances in recent decades, there are still some in the society who have decided to spend their entire lives without being registered on a government system.
To individuals who have chosen not to embrace technological advancement, he said they “will be left behind, missing out on opportunities to modernise and develop infrastructure that will better serve our citizens.”
So far, Dr Bawumia says government has implemented the national ID card, digital property address system, mobile money interoperability, Ghana.Gov, National E-Pharmacy, Digitised public services like passports, ports, drivers’ licence, Motor insurance, births and deaths, Social security, among others.
This, he explained is because digitisation is at the forefront of President Akufo-Addo’s agenda for Ghana, and “we are making great strides in upgrading Ghana’s technological capabilities.”
“The ‘Ghana Card’, a state-of-the-art, biometric ID card, is the beating heart of this government’s digitisation drive. The card is enfranchising all Ghanaians, connecting them with our fantastic public services, improving their access to finance, and helping our security services in the fight against fraudulent activity,” he added.
