Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has reiterated that President Akufo-Addo’s vision of a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ is based on the firm belief that Ghana cannot continue to rely on only her natural resources to achieve and sustain economic growth and development.
Rather, a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ will be grounded on the ideas and innovation of her citizens, whether home or abroad, and the unshakeable belief that we can do better as a nation.
A key pillar of the vision is to leverage on Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) to take advantage of the vast brain power Ghanaians have been endowed with to make a difference in the lives of the ordinary Ghanaian.
Addressing a gathering of Ghanaian technology experts working in the universally- acclaimed home of ICT, Silicon Valley, California, USA, on Wednesday, Vice President Bawumia stated that government is convinced that the use of technology is a key component of the ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda, and would continue to engage stakeholders in the sector.
“We believe it is time to look at doing things in a new way. This government is prepared to try new things, new ideas, innovations that will impact directly on every Ghanaian wherever they are on the planet. That is why we are here, where technology and innovation lead the way and its use has been designed for everyday activities,” he said.
Citing ongoing projects such as the National Digital Property Addressing System (NDPA), the soon-to-be-issued national ID card, the land records digitisation agenda and efforts to increase financial inclusion via interoperability in the payment systems, Vice President Bawumia indicated that government is already engaged in the use of technology for the transformation agenda.
“We are trying to build a new, efficient Ghana. The world is continually evolving, and this evolution is led by cutting-edge technology. We know there are many talented young men and women in the ICT space and government is looking at ways to make innovating and actualising promising ideas easier,” he mentioned.
Vice President Bawumia appealed to tech-savvy Ghanaians everywhere to collaborate with their compatriots back home to come up with Ghanaian solutions to Ghanaian challenges.
“Ghana needs your expertise to get to the next stage, to go beyond aid, and I am confident that we can count on you. Together we can build a prosperous, ICT-led Ghana,” he said.
Vice President Bawumia, together with the leadership of 15 local ICT firms, is on a five-day working visit to the technology hub of Silicon Valley, during which he will hold discussions with the Valley’s thought and technology leaders to explore the possibilities of developing strategic insight, decisions and partnerships with the view of helping to enhance the digitisation of the Ghanaian economy to move ‘Ghana Beyond Aid.’
The vice president recently visited a number of Ghanaian ICT firms to understand their challenges in order to aid policy formulation.
The visit to Silicon Valley by the vice president and the leadership of the Ghanaian ICT firms is to engage the world leaders in ICT in order to exchange ideas and fashion Ghanaian solutions for Ghanaian challenges.
Dr Bawumia is scheduled to meet corporate executives of cutting-edge digital technology organisations, including Microsoft, Facebook, Tesla and Alphabet.
He also visited a number of facilities like the G.E. Digital Centre and the IBM Watson Centre.
The vice president will also meet with the Ghanaian community and brief them on happenings back home.
Dr Bawumia was accompanied by representatives from GHIPSS, Hubtel, BlueSpace Africa, DreamOval, Rancard, Nsano, ExpressPay, IBM and Bsystems.
The rest are from IT Consortium, Trotro Tractor, General Electric, Callens Solution, Edel Technology Consult and the SoftTribe.
Also on the team is Deputy Minister of Communications and MP for Awutu Senya East, George Nenyi Andah; Mohammad Tijanni Habibu, Deputy Foreign Minister; Alex Tetteh Djornobuah, MP for Sefwi Akontonbra and Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education; and Halidu Ali Maiga, Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee.
GNA