Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah and other officials at the event
MINISTER FOR Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, says her outfit is working feverishly to engender Ghana’s accelerated digital transformation.
Speaking at a Digitisation Readiness Workshop held recently in Accra, she said “We must ensure catalytic investment and development of communication infrastructure, integration and leveraging of data systems and platforms, enhanced capacity of key institutions and improved coordination with the private sector for improved service delivery, business expansion and economic transformation.
She said “We need to establish a clear baseline of what digital assets we collectively own and the state of readiness of our institutions for an accelerated digital transformation. What do we currently have? What do we need to do to digitalisation public sector institutions? Can we build on anything at all or do we need to start from scratch? We need to define digital assets to include physical infrastructure and software as well the intangibles. It is only with this knowledge and insights that we will be able to plug the gaps in our digital landscape and make quick and meaningful steps towards delivering on our targets.”
According to her, the critical ingredient for success in such endeavour, was the need to put people first adding that technology was only ever as good as the people implementing it and using it.
“We all have a part to play, and as leaders in our various sectors, the onus is on us to set the tone for full commitment and support for the digital transformation work that is required. This collaborative tone must be set at the top and must filter through to all levels of our organisations,” she noted.
She, therefore, invited each Ministry to nominate two officers to take the role of Digital Transformation Leads.
“These officers will become the focal points of our ongoing engagement with the various Ministries and will work closely with our teams executing these important initiatives. Getting people with the right mindset and the right support, will ensure we will make quick work of this next leg of digital transformation. The team will share the terms of reference for the Digital Transformation Leads for your use in nominating suitable individuals. You have to institutionalize this program, set up teams and engage in continuous training to reap the full benefits of it. It is doable.”
The workshop also aimed at raising the awareness of the Digital Transformation initiatives that the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, under the Ghana CARES “Obaatanpa” programme, was executing and to secure participants’ buy-in and support.
She added that the “Global Digital Economy is now estimated at nearly $3 trillion and governments all over the world have placed a high priority on transforming their countries and their economies into more digitally advanced ones to reap the benefits and efficiency gains associated with technology. We cannot afford to be left out.”