In a major transfer in direction of enhancing transparency and combating corruption, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia unveiled Ghana’s ambition to grow to be Africa’s inaugural blockchain-powered authorities. Talking on the 14th Regional Convention and Annual Basic Assembly of Heads of Anti-Corruption Businesses in Commonwealth Africa, Dr. Bawumia emphasised the pivotal function of blockchain expertise in augmenting governance integrity.
The adoption of blockchain, he articulated, presents unparalleled capabilities in scrutinizing digital information alterations and meticulously monitoring all transactions inside governmental spheres. Dr. Bawumia underscored the transformative potential of blockchain in fostering transparency, thereby fortifying the federal government’s anti-corruption endeavors comprehensively.
The Vice President’s remarks have been delivered throughout the aforementioned convention themed “Strengthening Establishments and Selling Transparency: A Technique of Preventing Corruption in Commonwealth Africa,” which convened representatives from 20 Commonwealth African nations to strategize on combating corruption and stimulating financial prosperity.
Highlighting Ghana’s strides in digitalization since 2017, Dr. Bawumia lauded the impactful initiatives yielding substantial nationwide advantages. Notable amongst these initiatives is the ghana.gov portal, facilitating digital fee for public companies, which has amassed over GI-10201 billion in income since 2020. Furthermore, the digitalization of passport acquisition processes has witnessed a surge in functions and revenues, with figures escalating from 347,000 to 752,000 functions and from GH¢12 million to GH¢94 million in income between 2018 and 2023, respectively.
Moreover, the mixing of public sector databases via the GhanaCard system has enabled the identification and removing of 29,000 ghost pensioners from the payroll, leading to annual financial savings of GH¢480 million. Dr. Bawumia additionally highlighted the GhanaCard’s pivotal function in uncovering 44,707 ghost beneficiaries on the Nationwide Service Scheme payroll, resulting in financial savings amounting to GH¢356 million.
Addressing anti-corruption businesses throughout Africa, Dr. Bawumia advocated for investments in digital forensics and superior instruments to reinforce their capabilities in monitoring, tracing, and disrupting corrupt networks. He emphasised the crucial for these businesses to determine Personalized Safety Operation Facilities to bolster their efforts in combating corruption networks successfully.
Furthermore, Dr. Bawumia articulated the potential of the Central Financial institution Digital Forex (CBDC), colloquially generally known as the e-Cedi, as a game-changing device in Ghana’s anti-corruption arsenal. The introduction of the e-Cedi, he asserted, would facilitate seamless monitoring of economic transactions, thereby expediting the identification of suspicious actions and reinforcing Ghana’s anti-corruption initiatives.
In abstract, Ghana’s pursuit of blockchain-driven governance underlines its dedication to leveraging modern applied sciences to fight corruption and improve governance transparency, setting a pioneering instance for Africa and past.
