Bawumia highlights importance of digital identity and address systems in Ghana’s digitalisation
The Vice President and flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has emphasized the crucial role that digital identity and address systems play in modern economies and nations.
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Speaking during his campaign tour of the Dome Kwabena Constituency in Accra on Thursday, Dr. Bawumia stated that developed economies have surged ahead, leaving African countries behind, primarily because their economies have gone digital. He stressed that for African nations to catch up, it is essential for them to embrace digitalisation.
Dr. Bawumia, who has been a passionate advocate for Ghana's digitalisation drive, recalled that he proposed the digitalisation of African economies to achieve economic transformation in a book he authored 14 years ago.
"I wrote a book in 2010 titled 'Monetary Policy and Financial Sector Reforms in Africa,' where I argued that Africa needs to go digital. If we don't, we will be left behind because the digital revolution is key to African economic development," Dr. Bawumia told the diverse audience.
Having written the book six years before becoming Vice President, Dr. Bawumia said that once he assumed office, he knew where to focus his efforts, with the support of President Akufo-Addo.
"When I came into office, I concentrated on digitalising the economy," he said. "I did this for a good reason because, in a modern economy, digitalisation is key to solving many problems not only in Ghana but across Africa."
Dr. Bawumia, however, added that for Ghana's digitalisation to take off successfully, a solid foundation needed to be established. Without these foundations, digitalising the economy could not have been achieved, which is why he focused on them.
"There are things you must do first if you want to enter the digital world. First, your citizens must be digitally identified. That's why we said, 'Let us issue the Ghana Card,' and the Ghana Card has been issued," he said.
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"85% of adults in Ghana now have the Ghana Card. We have issued 18 million Ghana Cards, making Ghana the leading country in sub-Saharan Africa for digital identity. Today, even children born in Ghana are given digital identities, just as it happens abroad."
"We provide them with an identity number at birth. We have linked the Ghana Card with the birth and death registry, allowing Ghana to do something no other country in the world has been able to do."
Another digital foundation Dr. Bawumia highlighted was the digital address system, which he noted is essential for creating a digital economy.
"When we came into office, Ghana did not have a functioning address system nationwide. But an address system is one of the most important elements for any modern economy," said Dr. Bawumia.
"An address system is so important that if you were to collapse the address system in the United States, that economy would collapse because businesses cannot function without it," he stressed.
Dr. Bawumia mentioned that when he committed to building these structures for a strong and efficient digital economy in Ghana, many, who did not understand the connection between digitalisation and the economy, questioned his efforts and mocked him.
"When I started, many people could not understand how digitalisation related to the economy, but increasingly, they are now beginning to understand."