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Africa’s participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution must be based on data and transparent systems – Dr Bawumia
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said one of the setups African countries face in their attempt to transform their economies is the lack of data and transparent systems.
According to him, most countries in the African continent take decisions in the governance and management of their economies without any proper and consolidated data.
This he noted has resulted in economic policies and decisions not realising the expected outcomes.
Dr Bawumia in an address at the 2023 African Development Conference held at Harvard University in the United States of America said “The reality is that African countries have been trying to transform their economies without data and transparent systems. Governments are taking critical decisions without being informed by the data”.
He added that “When our government assumed office in 2017, we made the ambitious decision to address all the problems of the lack of unique identity, address systems, etc. immediately and simultaneously. The question was what is the best way to do it?
“We decided to quickly transform our economy by leveraging technological innovations as a means to leapfrog the development process, overcome legacy problems, and improve both economic and public sector governance. We chose digitalization as the vehicle and this is why digitalization has been a major area of focus for our government. If data is the new oil, digitization is the most efficient and cost-effective vehicle for generating the data”. Without this data African countries will not be able to effectively participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he said.
Delving into the key areas of transformation that he noted have been critical to Ghana’s digitisation revolution, Dr Bawumia said the introduction of a biometric national identification system in Ghana has been a game-changer in several ways.
“More than 17 million people (over 80% of the targeted adult population) enrolled in the secured national database. With the Ghana card, the identity of people (even dead people) can be established using their fingerprints. This is one of the most transformational projects implemented under digitalization. We have solved the problem of providing a unique identity to our population. A problem we have lived with since independence 66 years ago. We have also started a pilot and will likely roll out nationwide a system of providing National ID numbers to children at birth from June this year,” he said.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia mentioned the Property Addressing System, Mobile Money Interoperability, and Digitalized Tax Payment System amongst several other reforms that are driving Ghana’s economic growth.
Ghana’s First Lady, Lordina Mahama, has made a generous donation to the country’s national female Under-17 and Under-20 teams – Black Maidens and Black Princesses- as they continue preparations for major international assignments.
The donation, made on Friday, May 22, was presented on behalf of the First Lady by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, at the GFA Technical Centre in Prampram.
The gesture forms part of efforts to motivate and support Ghana’s young female footballers as they prepare to represent the country on the international stage.
The donation included essential food items and toiletries aimed at supporting the welfare and well-being of the players and technical teams.
The donation included cartons of Milo, T-rolls, soft drinks, toiletries, and a range of essential supplies aimed at supporting the welfare of the players, enhancing camp conditions, and easing preparations ahead of their respective assignments.
The Black Maidens are currently engaged in preparations for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers and are set to take on Liberia women’s national under-17 football team in the second-leg encounter in Liberia this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Black Princesses have already secured qualification to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after overcoming Uganda in the qualifiers, extending Ghana’s remarkable record to eight consecutive appearances at the tournament.
The donation by the First Lady was expected to boost morale within both camps while reinforcing national support for the young female footballers who continue to make the country proud.
The prosecution has officially rested its case in The Republic v Solomon Asamoah & Another, the high-profile legal battle commonly referred to as the “Sky Train” case.
The Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai announced the development, praising the state’s team of hard-working prosecutors for successfully anchoring the state’s evidence before the High Court.
The criminal trial centers on the former Chief Executive Officer and the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).
The duo stands accused of illegally authorizing and paying out US$2 million to a foreign company without obtaining board directives or other mandatory statutory approvals.
State investigators have confirmed that the disbursed millions cannot be found.
Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, the accused persons moved the court for an opportunity to file a submission of no case.
The presiding judge granted the application, ordering the defense to submit their arguments by June 8.
The outcome of the June 8 filings will decide the fate of the trial:
With this, if the judge finds the defense’s submission convincing, the accused will be acquitted and discharged however, If the judge dismisses the submission, the court will order the accused officials to take the stand and explain why they should not face prison sentences.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
