Ghana’s future is anchored in ICT – Veep
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said for Ghana to achieve economic transformation, it hinged on the utilisation of the information and communication technology (ICT) in delivering services to the citizenry.
He said a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the ICT sector in the ever-evolving world would go a long way to propel the Government’s ‘‘Ghana Beyond Aid’’ agenda.
‘‘We believe that the future of Ghana is a future that has to be anchored in ICT.
‘‘We believe that if we are going to make progress and go beyond aid then we have to be very efficient in what we do,’’ he stated.
Vice President Bawumia made the observation when he visited some ICT firms in Accra, to familiarise himself with their operations and find best ways government could support them to resolve their challenges.
Some of the ICT firms he visited included Dream Oval, Hubtel Limited, the SOFT Tribe Limited and Farmerline Ghana Limited.
The companies showcased some of their previous works and solutions they had provided to the government and private entities, including banks, security agencies, utility service providers and farmers.
Vice President Bawumia commended the ICT companies for providing employment for the many ICT graduates and, thus, assured government’s commitment to create an enabling environment for start-ups.
He expressed happiness over the competencies of Ghanaian ICT firms, noting that, indigenous ICT firms were as good as those found in anywhere in the world.
He gave the assurance that, the Government would set the necessary framework and an enabling environment for them to be competitive and perform to the best of their abilities.
‘‘In this way whether it is in health, education, agriculture, revenue collection, police or military, you can help us with the sort of innovations that you can come up with,’’ he said.
Dr Bawumia encouraged the firms to engage the Government for a discussion on their challenges, saying; ‘‘we’re going to be very supportive’’.
‘‘We want to encourage you and to let you know that, we are here to support you because we believe you are as good as anyone else anywhere in the world.
‘‘We want you to let us know how we can best help indigenous ICT firms. You have got to let us know how to create the space for you then we will move to do exactly that, so that we can move this economy to where the President wants us to move it’’.
Source: GNA