The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has stated that, his administration, the New Patriotic Party, since assuming office in 2017, has leveraged on technology to help reform and improve Ghana’s institutional and regulatory processes towards the creation of a digital economy.
According to President Akufo-Addo, the digital economy that has been established, as a result, is supporting sustained economic growth, and improving the wellbeing of the Ghanaian citizen.
Speaking at the 26th Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) African Regional Conference, held at the Kempinski Hotel, Accra, on Tuesday, 18th June, 2019, the President highlighted the immense potential of technological innovations towards the transformation of economies across the world.
He indicated that the national identification system, which requires, amongst others, that, a citizen has a digital property address, is being rolled out adding that, these biometric national ID cards are being linked to other identification systems and databases, such as social security, driver’s license, and passports, to ensure we have a credible national database.
President Akufo-Addo stated that, Government has now completed the cycle of mobile money payments by linking mobile money wallets to bank accounts and the e-zwich card explaining that,this has created a level playing field for persons with or without bank accounts to conduct financial transactions, and is rapidly promoting financial inclusivity in Ghana.
The Commander-In-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, revealed that, the financial industry is witnessing significant growth, and with mobile money penetration in Ghana being the second highest in Africa, evidenced in mobile money transactions worth GH¢213 billion in 2018, up from GH¢78.5 billion in 2016, he anticipated that, with continued reforms to the payment systems, Ghana will have a strong competitive edge in the region for financial innovation and access to credit.
Nana Akufo-Addo also revealed that, Government has committed itself to having digital systems manage all government receipts and payments by 2020. He noted that, this mode of payment is guaranteeing efficiency in the delivery of government services, including caterers employed under the National School Feeding Programme, beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, and recipients of nurses and teacher trainee allowances, amongst others, as these new trends unfold, and with the emergence of new payment streams in support of the digitisation agenda, the President indicated that steps have also been taken to strengthen the regulatory environment.
The Bank of Ghana recently reviewed, amended and consolidated all existing payment system regulatory frameworks into the new “Payment Systems and Services Act” 2019, an Act which the President assented to. The new legislation is to ensure that banks, non-banking financial institutions, and, especially, rural and community banks, provide services that will bring banking and financial transactions even closer to the public.
President Akufo-Addo urged the Bank of Ghana to make sure that Ghana’s financial sector remains fit for global integration, by ensuring compliance with international standards with Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication(SWIFT) working with Ghana to reduce vulnerabilities to these external risks.
President Akufo-Addo noted that his Government’s agenda of creating a digital economy has naturally been extended to other sectors of the economy, with the introduction of the paperless port system, the e-justice system, and the digitising of land administration services, as he stressed that, there are criminal syndicates who will always be bent on exploiting it for their selfish interests, which have to be relentlessly fought.
However, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo noted that his administration have developed the Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) ecosystem, and instituted cyber security awareness programmes and other initiatives in addition to the establishment of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to oversee and coordinate Ghana’s nation’s cyber security programmes, which have set Ghana on the path to developing a robust national cyber security system.
