Nathanial Dwamena
“When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion – when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing – when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors – when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you – when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice – you may know that your society is doomed.” Ayn Rand.
The word ‘Goro Boys’ is a popular name used to refer to middlemen who make it possible for people to receive their services at public institutions at a fee higher than what they ordinarily would have been charged.
The ‘Goro Boys’ play the role of Public Relations practitioners in certain jurisdictions, using social media and traditional media to rubbish claims of allegations leveled against their paymasters. In these instances, their paymaster may be a government appointee or a CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation who is under scrutiny for his inactions.
But for this subject, we will limit it to middlemen. The devastating activities of ‘Goro Boys’ are not novel to the Ghanaian system. One is usually directed to an agent who provides the service on a ‘cash and carry’ basis to avoid waiting in a long line. It takes someone who has suffered from the hands of ‘Goro Boys’ to appreciate this piece for paying so much for an easy service that one could have had on their phone or from a service provider for free.
During the peak of the pandemic, ‘Goro Boys’ heightened, especially when the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the sector Minister of Communication and Digitalization requested the populace to link their Ghana Card with the SIM card or risk losing the SIM.
At various registration stations where there were 1-50 customer service representatives to customer ratio in a day, the ‘Goro Boys’ took advantage of the situation and rolled out door-to-door registration services where people paid more for a free service at the time considering the economic impact of the pandemic on the ordinary citizen.
I registered with ‘Goro Boys’ to avoid long queues at service outlets. One intriguing part of their activities is that their services are genuine. Also, they were fast and easy and saved me transportation.
The question I kept asking myself was, is there no way to register in the comfort of our homes or work places to ease the tension of registration? Could there not be anything, some technology to ease transport fares in accessing such services?
It was reported that people traveled from the northern parts of the country to Accra to get their SIM cards registered. As a matter of fact, people still suffer from SIM card blockages due to deadline failure. (Sigh),
Blockchain Works
In situations like SIM registration, I encountered the word ‘Block Chain’ for the first time at a round table policy dialogue discussion on using Fintech and Blockchain Innovation for free trade organized by the YAFO Institute, an independent public policy research organization.
Listening to YAFO President, Nathanial Dwamena, as he presented blockchain technology, should government and non-governmental organizations embrace blockchain technology the various activities of ‘Goro Boys’ who charge exorbitant fees for relatively free services at public places in the country will reduce drastically.
Check www.dailyguidenetwork.com
It was also revealed that blockchain technology is not Bitcoin. It is a distributed database or ledger shared among computer network nodes.
Blockchain technology is best known for its crucial role in cryptocurrency systems in maintaining a secure and decentralized record of transactions.
However, they are not limited to cryptocurrency uses. It also can be used to make data in any industry immutable—the term used to describe the inability to be altered.
Mr. Dwamena however explained that “Immutable records stored on the blockchain provide transparency and verifiability, allowing all participants to audit and validate the contract’s execution”.
This, he said, is key to eliminating ‘Goro Boys’ activities for inclusive development, due to the decentralized nature of blockchain, it has many advantages to solving problems like corruption and activities of ‘Goro Boys’ who frustrate entrepreneurs in the country.
Government Failed Attempt
In a news report on www.dailyguidenetwork.com headlined Registrar Of Companies Gets Tough On ‘Goro Boys’, The Registrar of Companies, Jemima Oware, established that her outfit will roll out a completely digital system next year (2023) aimed at eliminating third-party interference in business registration.
Emphasizing that the objective of the updated digital system is to eliminate third-party interferences, ‘Goro Boys’, in business administration processes. The year is halfway through, yet companies have trouble registering their organizations. We eagerly await her announcement of how her outfit is implementing its digitalization system.
Similarly, President Akufo-Addo in a news report said that the digitalization of the Driver Vehicular Licensing Authority (DVLA) will ease the corrupt activities of the ‘Goro Boys’ who frustrate vehicular owners in the country.
That notwithstanding, months later after the President’s promise of hope to Ghanaians, local media station, Joy News’ ‘Money Over Human Lives’ investigation captured DVLA officials of different categories with some operating through ‘agents’, as well as security men who solicit money to outwit the official mandatory requirements for personal financial gains in total disregard for the danger their actions pose to human lives.
As we speak, DVLA management has interdicted the four members captured in the expose. On various occasions, the government and its agencies have attempted to end corrupt practices in the country, but they do not seem to be succeeding. Could it be that the authorities have overlooked the potential of blockchain because they perceive it as a scam scheme?
Although it is best known for its relationship with cryptocurrencies and Non-Fungible Token NFTs, it is already been implemented in other areas of significant importance because its features have proven to be highly beneficial in many ways.
This has resulted in corruption prevention, fraud combatting, and improved transparency in all sectors.
And it is ideal for implementation in obsolete financial and administrative systems with poor IT security. Countries such as Colombia and Peru are witnessing the positive results of how this technology prevents corruption.
Mr. Dwamena says as it stands now the Registrar of Companies does not register blockchain companies in the country. In contrast, there are many international companies transacting businesses with thousands of customers in Ghana tax-free which is a huge revenue loss to the country.
By Prince Fiifi Yorke