Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has lauded the positive outcomes of Ghana’s digital transformation, highlighting remarkable increases in annual revenues for key agencies.
Speaking at the National Development Conference themed “Moral Vision and National Development,” Dr. Bawumia emphasized that digitization has significantly curbed corruption.
He revealed that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) saw a substantial surge in annual revenue, rising from 450 million cedis to an impressive 1.2 million cedis, after adopting digital practices.
Similarly, the passport office experienced a remarkable transformation, with its revenue escalating from 1 million cedis to an impressive 64 million cedis.
Dr. Bawumia attributed these success stories to the government’s digitization agenda, which has substantially improved efficiency and transparency within these agencies.
“In times past, it used to be easy to lie about your age and get away with it, particularly in the government sector. At the port, for instance, we have introduced the paperless system, and this came with resistance. Some of the custom officers organized demonstrations against the move, but we were firm on our stance. Today, at the offices of ECG, you can buy your credit without any challenges.”
“The challenges with ECG initially were that the revenues of ECG were constant and the values were the same. We looked at the architecture of revenue of ECG and we changed it. They were collecting 450 million cedis a month as revenue. We sent in a team to work on their system. There were sabotage attempts, such as people sending viruses into the system to destroy our work, but we were resilient and brought in a whole new architecture for ECG. Today, they make over 1 million cedis as revenues monthly. The same happened at the passport office, which was making 1 million cedis to over 65 million cedis,” he added.
He noted that the ECG’s revenue used to remain stagnant despite an increasing customer base, but with the digitization efforts, monthly revenues have soared significantly.
The passport office also witnessed a dramatic revenue boost due to the adoption of digital processes.
Dr. Bawumia mentioned that initially, there were challenges and resistance to the digitization efforts, but the government remained firm in its stance, leading to remarkable results.
“As Ghanaians, we have thrown away our values. Today, our cities are so dirty. When we were children and growing up, we used to wake up early in the morning and sweep our compounds. But today, that is not the case. Today, society is not concerned about how we make money and the manner in which we make them. Greed and theft have taken over our space, and people who are engaged in that are celebrated, yet society is not concerned.”
Former Presidents, John Agyekum Kufuor and John Dramani Mahama also addressed the conference, emphasizing the importance of preserving African values.
Former President Mahama expressed concerns about the erosion of traditional values and the adoption of foreign cultures, urging Ghanaians to uphold essential Ghanaian values in society.
Former President Kufuor emphasized the significance of morality in Ghanaian society and called for its integration into development pursuits, irrespective of backgrounds or ideologies.
Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo also stressed the need for justice to prevail in all aspects of Ghanaian life to ensure peaceful coexistence among diverse individuals.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, emphasized the urgency of tackling corruption through robust legislation and by fostering a culture of integrity and competence within the nation. He highlighted the need to address corruption comprehensively to achieve lasting progress.