More than two hundred delegates from 21 African nations, gathered in Accra, Ghana, for the 14th Commonwealth Regional Conference of Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa, have reached a consensus on the crucial role of technology in the fight against corruption and related crimes.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who delivered a presentation on digitalization and its significance, emphasized the necessity for a paradigm shift.
He suggested that by leveraging the correct digital tools and employing them effectively, digitalization can combat even the most entrenched forms of public corruption, including the intricate networks facilitating such corruption.
“I posit to you that with the right tools and its use, we can deploy digitalization to defeat the worst forms of public corruption, including the networks that underpin them…While bribery, revenue leakage, and corrupt networks and value chains are some of the most pressing issues in the fight against corruption that threaten the future of African youth, we also have at our disposal digital technologies to identify members of corrupt networks, to account for revenues collected and to block revenue theft, as well as to track money and suspicious activity”, he had argued.
He stated that the utilization of digital tools has demonstrated that with increased investment and improved tools, there exists the potential to eradicate the most severe forms of corruption that burden African economies.
Dr. Bawumia, who has effectively spearheaded the NPP Government’s digitalization initiative, disclosed plans for the next phase of the Government’s extensive digitalization campaign, which entails the adoption of blockchain technology. This innovation aims to safeguard Government data and records from tampering, furthering the Government’s anti-corruption efforts in the public sector through the strategic use of digital tools.
He elucidated that upon successful implementation of blockchain technology, Ghana’s Government could pioneer the establishment of a blockchain-driven administration on the African continent.
“We are going to adopt blockchain technology for the government to ensure that all data and transactions in the Government space are transparent and tamper-proof. No one can change them. And so ours could well become the first blockchain-powered government in Africa,” he disclosed.
After his presentation, delegates unanimously endorsed the Vice President’s proposal for the utilization of technology in combating corruption in the modern era, as reflected in their Ten-Point Communique.
“Member countries should scale up the use of technology to combat corruption; Anti-Corruption agencies should intensify corruption prevention in view of the evolving corruption landscape; Commonwealth African governments should commit adequate resources to Anti-Corruption agencies, to ensure the latter’s effectiveness and sustainability at fighting corruption”, the communique said.