Vice President Bawumia
Government is leveraging digitalisation to shape national discourse and promote behavioural change based on moral principles, Vice President Bawumia has stated.
Outlining the positive effects achieved by the ongoing infusion of digitalisation in daily national life, Dr. Bawumia said government has taken a deliberate decision to reduce the human interface, which is usually the arena for corruption, in order to reduce its incidence and cultivate a new approach to national life.
Dr. Bawumia extolled the virtues of digitalisation in the fight against corruption and moral decadence when he addressed guests at the National Development Conference 2023, organised by the Church of Pentecost on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.
The conference held under the theme “Moral Vision and National Development” was attended by all major stakeholders in Ghana’s development including former Presidents JA Kufuor and John Mahama; Speaker of Parliament Alban S.K. Bagbin; the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo, National Executives of political parties, leaders of religious bodies, civil society organisations and governance experts.
“The behaviour of the people determines the transformation of a nation. This is why, as a government, we have focused on putting in place systems that will reduce the role of the human factor and enhance transparency through digitalisation of the economy. We have put in place systems that will encourage or compel morally upright behaviour,” he stated.
“Through digitalisation, we are compelling behaviour that is morally upright,” he continued, noting that by reducing the human interface, state institutions and their clients have no choice but to do the right things and pay the right fees because computers don’t understand bribes.
Dr. Bawumia cited the major impacts digitalisation has had on efficiency and revenue generation in some key government institutions.
“The DVLA is now a world-class institution, without the need for ‘goro boys’. Now you can apply for a passport online and have it delivered to your house without having to pay a bribe. The port is now paperless and clearing your goods has become much easier.
Alluding to the theme for the conference, Vice President Bawumia pledged that government would work assiduously for the “establishment of a free and just society, where entrepreneurship and individual initiative are the sources of wealth creation with a strong social safety net for the marginalised and disadvantaged; and the improvement of the governance architecture to deepen accountability and respect for the rule of law in our body politic.”
While praising the religious community for their strong collaboration with government for national development, Dr. Bawumia singled out the Church of Pentecost for high praise.
“If there is one Church which has, over the years, and, particularly, in recent times, risen to its duties of being a steadfast partner with Government in the development of the nation, I dare say it is the Church of Pentecost,” he disclosed.