Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
The flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
has on numerous occasions presented himself as a champion of digitalisation
in this country.
The Vice President is currently riding on the altar of digitalisation going into the upcoming 2024 election. On the other hand, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) disagrees with the Vice President’s claim of being the originator of digitalisation. The question is, how and when did digitalisation start in this country?
This article addresses this question with facts and evidence.
Digital transformation has become a global phenomenon, revolutionising
industries, an essential driver of economic growth, innovation, and inclusivity,
as well as reshaping economies. All African countries including Ghana have
embraced this transformative journey, leveraging technology to drive
innovation, enhance efficiency and unlock new opportunities across various
sectors.
History of digitalisation in Ghana:
Ghana was among the earliest African countries to invest in internet
connectivity, which has proven to be a major influencer that significantly
shapes the costs of communicating within the African continent, and with the
rest of the world. As far back as in the early 2000s, intense efforts at
digitalisation began in this country, this was after a series of information and
communication technology (ICT)-related reforms that date back to the 1980s.
Digitalisation in this country started as a nationalised monopoly in the form of
Ghana postal and telecommunication. The telecommunications sector was
liberalised in 1994 with the adoption of a five-year ICT Accelerated
Development Plan (ADP) directed at restructuring the telecoms sector and
repositioning it as a major vehicle for socio-economic transformation and
national growth.
In 1993, Ghana registered its first commercial internet domain ‘GH.COM’, and
by 1995, in collaboration with other organizations. Ghana became the first
West Africa and the second sub-Saharan African country to attain full
interconnectivity.
In pursuit of using ICT as the fulcrum of the next phase of its developmental
agenda, significant investments in infrastructure for the deployment of
Internet and ICT-related services were made.
Transformation of the Digital Sector:
Since the 1990s, Ghana has made significant strides in enhancing its digital
infrastructure. This country has witnessed an increased internet penetration,
with the proliferation of mobile devices and expanding 4G coverage. The
government’s initiatives, such as the National Fibre Optic Backbone
Infrastructure Projects have played a pivotal role in improving connectivity and bridging the digital divide.
The Accra Digital Centre:
The Accra Digital Centre project started in 2011 and was financed by the World
Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation, is a collection of 12 old warehouses of
the Public Works Department, which has been renovated with each of the
buildings occupying 735 square meters. It makes a total of 8,820 square
metres.
In November 2016, the then President John Dramani Mahama and the current
flagbearer of the NDC inaugurated the Accra Digital Centre which costs $8.3
million with a call on Ghanaians to accept reforms in all sectors for national
development.
Digital Finance Landscape:
The emergence of digital financial services and inclusion in Ghana arguably
began when the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited
(GhIPSS) was established in 2007. As a foundation for financial inclusion,
GhIPSS, which is an interbank payment and settlement company, was tasked
with creating and managing interoperable payment system infrastructure for
banks and other financial institutions.
As a result of the massive investment into infrastructure in the 1990s and
in the 2000s to enhance digitalisation, in April 2008, GhIPSS rolled out a novel
national switch and smart card payment system dubbed e-Zwich.9 E-Zwich is a
biometric smart card connected to all financial institutions in Ghana that
allows users to deposit, withdraw, and transfer money. The card was targeted
at the unbanked in Ghana, who amounted to a staggering 80 percent of the
country’s population at the time. In the 1990s, in 2009, MTN launched the first
mobile money service in partnership with universal banks, followed by Airtel
Money in 2010 and Tigo Cash in 2012.
As a result of the accumulated efforts of previous regimes since the 1980s, today, 59.7% of the population in Ghana has a mobile money account. One of the key drivers of Ghana's digital economy is mobile technology. Mobile penetration is high in Ghana, with over 40 million mobile subscriptions in the country in 2021 according to Statistica.
On the above-adduced evidence, it will be preposterous, outrageous,
disingenuous, and hypocritical for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the NPP to
claim credit for introducing digitalisation into this country. Digitalisation is a process and not an event, it is fair to say every government has
contributed to enhancing the phenomenon as and when there is a new innovative system required to improve it. However, the real originators of digitalisation in this country are the NDC and the late former President Jerry John Rawlings.
