Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has announced that Ghana is on track to become the first blockchain-powered government in Africa and one of the few in the world. Speaking at the 14th Commonwealth Regional Conference and Annual General Meeting of Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa, Dr. Bawumia stated that the government is adopting blockchain technology to ensure transparency and tamper-proof data and transactions.
He highlighted that 99% of government agencies have been onboarded onto the Government digital platform (link unavailable), with the remaining 1% to be completed by the end of the year. This digitalization has enabled electronic access to almost all government services, with payment also made electronically, eliminating cash transactions and plugging revenue leakages.
The next stage of digitalization, according to Dr. Bawumia, is to complete the integration of databases through the X-Road Integration infrastructure and apply blockchain technology to all of government. This will enable rapid and immutable identification of modifications in digital data and intelligent devices, making it possible to discover any changes made to digital data and track transactions across the government space.
The Vice President emphasized that corruption has a devastating effect on Africa, with an estimated loss of at least one trillion US Dollars over the past five years. He called for more investment in digital tools to fight corruption and urged African governments to holistically invest in acquiring necessary tools to fight crime and cross-border corruption.
Dr. Bawumia noted that Ghana has made significant strides in fighting corruption, including the issuance of unique identity cards and addresses for all Ghanaians and resident foreigners. He charged anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies to leverage digitalization to track, trace, and disrupt the entire corruption value chain and give Africa a fighting chance against poverty and under-development.
In summary, Ghana is poised to become a pioneer in blockchain-powered government, leveraging digitalization to fight corruption, plug revenue leakages, and provide electronic access to government services. This move is expected to have a significant impact on the continent, and Dr. Bawumia’s call to action encourages other African governments to follow suit and invest in digital tools to fight corruption.
