Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia has explained that government is using technology to solve problems facing Ghanaians.
According to him, the government is aiming to build a data-based society, where many things will be done using technology and digitalisation.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of Academic City University College on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, the Vice President explained that solving the problems of the country with technology will go a long way to ensure that Ghana is not left behind in terms of development.
“In Ghana, we have chosen to be part of the fourth industrial revolution. We have made a decision not to be left behind and for that matter, as a matter of policy, the government is pursuing technology, not for the sake of technology, but we are pursuing technology to solve problems,” Dr. Bawumia said.
Citing examples of some technological innovations the Akufo-Addo-led government has implemented, Dr Bawumia mentioned the government’s introduction of the Ghana Card, and reiterated that about 16 million ID cards have been printed for Ghanaians.
This, he said, is a way to fish out ghost workers from the public sector payroll.
“There is a problem that we inherited of no unique national identification system for our population. We have implemented the national identification system with the Ghana Card and we have issued about 16 million Ghanaians with a unique national ID.
“…Because ghosts cannot have fingerprints and we are able to fish them out,” he said amid laughter.
He went on to indicate that digitalization has also helped the government to address the “no working address system” by implementing a national digital property address system.
“So in Ghana today, every five by five perimeter of land or water have a unique digital address.”
Speaking about mobile money interoperability, the Vice President stressed that the government has, “implemented the mobile money interoperability system which allows customers of one telco to transfer money to another. We have also allowed interoperability between bank accounts and mobile money wallets and this has made Ghana the fastest-growing mobile money market in Africa.”
Dr Bawumia noted that digitalisation of the operations of pharmacies, ports, births and deaths registry, ticketing processes at stadiums, and passport processes have also improved the lives of Ghanaians.
He, however, congratulated the authorities of Academic City University College for offering a Bachelor’s Programme in Artificial Intelligence and other forward-thinking programmes such as Robotics and Biometric Engineering.
He observed that the University was developing a less expensive ventilator, which per reports, “is currently going through appropriate tests and permissions and it will soon be available in our hospitals and clinics to improve health care around the country.”
“It has been only four years since Academic City University College opened its doors and it has already assumed a pivotal position in reshaping higher education in Ghana and the sub-region,” Dr. Bawumia stressed.
