The Government of Ghana is making significant efforts and investments to position the country as a regional hub for digital services.
It recognises the opportunity that digital development has for stimulating jobs, enhancing productivity, and accelerating inclusive growth.
That’s why it has been undertaking a number of keystone projects, including a comprehensive digital address system and more aggressive automation of government business processes.
Ghana is one of the only 11 countries in the continent with national digital IDs with electronic components and associated public-service-delivery functions.
Ghana’s digital sector has experienced impressive growth
In the past few years, adopting disruptive technologies has gathered pace in Ghana.
In the 2018 survey of the UN’s EGDI index, Ghana is the only African country that transitioned from the middle to high level.
There have been several recent initiatives by the Government to adopt new technologies, and some other developments in the private sector have also contributed to this demand as well.
Ghana.Gov Platform
The launch of the Ghana.Gov platform – a single digital payment and services portal – provides a single point of access to all ministries and public agencies’ services.
This was a major leap toward Ghana’s digitalisation agenda.
This portal processes all payments, customer notifications, feedback, and service ratings.
GhanaPost GPS
This is the National Digital Property Addressing System.
It is an addressing system launched in 2017 to facilitate the implementation of key government policies.
As one might guess, the essence of the project was to have a digital database of all properties to assist in revenue generation as well as planning for improved service delivery.
The Ghana Community Network
This network, otherwise known as GCNet – is an online system providing an end-to-end solution for handling all trade and customs operations at all ports in the country.
It ensures accurate “real-time” revenue accounting and reconciliation.
It is a smart clearance system which handles 98% of all customs-revenue collection.
It has streamlined trade operations while sealing loopholes for tax evasion because goods are systematically tracked from arrival to destination.
Online Passport Application
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched Ghana’s online passport application service in 2016 to ease the application while ensuring maximum security for applicants.
Over the years, there have been numerous challenges surrounding this service.
Such as long queues at the Passport Office coupled with the existence of middlemen (Goro boys), who charged exorbitant fees for faster services.
That’s why the adoption of the online passport service was aimed at addressing these difficulties that plagued passport acquisition in Ghana.
Universal QR Code
In 2020, Ghana became the first African country to implement a universal quick response code payment system (GhQR.)
The universal QR Code system allows customers to make payments for goods and services directly from a mobile phone.
GhQR allows sellers to receive payments instantly into their preferred accounts via a static or dynamic QR Code.
The ICT for Accelerated Development Policy (ICT4AD)
The Ghana government has undertaken a series of policy and infrastructure-related reforms in recent years:
These strategic policies and initiatives have paved the way for developing Ghana’s highly competitive digital market.
In 2003, the ICT4AD policy set out the plans to engineer an ICT-led socioeconomic development process to transform the country into a knowledge-based, technology-driven economy.
The government is currently taking steps to update the ICT4AD policy toward a new digital roadmap strategy for the country.
In 2019, the government organised the Ghana Digital Roadmap Conference to review this policy document in line with digital opportunities to establish Ghana as the leader in ICT in Sub-Sahara Africa by 2023.
Final remarks
Digital is one of Ghana’s best-performing sectors which grew on average by 19% between 2014-2020, according to the World Bank.
It has gone beyond the digitalisation of existing processes to implement a digital-by-design approach to public-service delivery.
This involves simplifying government services for an efficient citizen experience regardless of the channel or platform used.
However, despite the progress, a number of challenges persist.
Most of the infrastructure in Ghana is concentrated in urban areas, with large sections of the country’s rural population without effective coverage.
The cyber ecosystem is still in its early stages, and experts have said the country’s culture is not yet cyber-conscious.
The government needs to support a regulatory shift to create an enabling environment for digital innovation and streamlined delivery of public services.
Sources:
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/development/africa-s-development-dynamics-2021_0a5c9314-en
https://www.trade.gov/market-intelligence/ghana-digital-economy
