The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has touted his contribution towards advancing Ghana’s digitalisation drive.
Dr. Bawumia says prior to the Akufo-Addo government taking the hem of affairs in January 2017, digitalisation was not part of the nation’s developmental agenda.
Rather than being a core component of Ghana’s developmental initiative, Dr. Bawumia says digitalisation was only peripheral in the nation’s developmental trajectory until he took it upon himself to champion it.
Speaking at the launch of the CitizenApp Monday, October 07, 2024, he outlined the many benefits the nation has derived from the digitalisation.
Apart from speeding up service delivery in the country, the Vice President added that digitalisation has also curbed corruption in the system.
“Before the start of this journey, digitalization was not part of our development equation. Before we began this journey in 2017, digitalization in Ghana was largely seen as a peripheral concern, not central to the country’s national development agenda.
“Several government agencies operated under traditional, manual processes across critical sectors, which often led to inefficiencies, delays, and significant bottlenecks in service delivery. Government services, for instance, required long queues, multiple in-person visits, and frustrating paperwork,” he stated.
He continued that the initiative has also driven economic advancement by increasing access to essential services, appreciating the recognition that technology is now a core element of development instead of being a latent element.
“This analog approach to delivering public services not only slowed economic progress but also stifled innovation and left large segments of the population with very limited access to essential services.
“At the time, there was minimal investment in building the digital infrastructure necessary to support widespread digital transformation, and technology was viewed more as an add-on rather than a core element of national economic strategy,” he lauded.
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