The Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has urged African countries to follow suite from Ghana and digitalize the offering of public services to reduce corruption and inefficiency, in an interview with the Africa Policy Journal, at the Harvard University.
Dr. Bawumia indicated that, if a country’s population is not uniquely identified, there arise the challenge of identifying tax payers and non-tax payers, resulting in a problem in domestic revenue mobilization. Without the address systems, implementation of property taxing mechanism becomes another challenge.
“…public sector service delivery is very manual…and therefore you have corruption and that means the lack of productivity, inefficiency. If you can automate and digitalize the offering of these public services, you increase efficiency, you reduce corruption, reduce the cost of doing business” he added.
Financial inclusion he said, is one of the major underlying micro fundamental that has to be addressed. Thus, if a majority of a population are excluded from the financial sector, savings in the sector is low, interest rates will be high and growths will be low, resulting in macro instability.
“…first of all, a recognition of the problem, and it will require political will and leadership, in that, when you want change and reform, you need a clear vision and that is going to be provided by leadership and therefore set out a roadmap in terms of how you are going to achieve it”, he said in response to the sort of awareness African countries need to put in place to carry the population along in the use of digital technology.
He indicated how Ghana started off by putting in place the peelings by introducing the National ID (Ghana Card), Digital Address System, Mobile Money Interoperability, Digitalization of all Government sectors, among others, thus the Digital Ghana Agenda, which he spearheads, which have been greatly beneficial to enhancing development in the country.
Dr. Bawumia also urged African countries to have vision, political will and implementation to make use of digitalization and digital technology.
