Analyst - PAGES

Tuesday, September 29, 2020
procurement processes for the public
sector. This includes the Common User
average Price List, which makes
pricing for goods and services
transparent.
an array of other digitalization
initiatives are directed at speeding up
and improving the quality of socioeconomic
services provided citizens
by the public sector.
For instance the Ghana.Gov
Platform seeks to allow Mdas to offer
digitised services to citizens from a
single portal. It is currently being
piloted with 15 Mdas. all Mdas will
eventually be on-boarded on the
platform.
Ghana.gov enables payment for all
government services digitally.
Implementation of Ghana.gov is
expected to increase government
revenue by at least 50%.
NEW PaTRIOTIC PaRTY
dEVELOPMENT IN FREEdOM
1.3. a Government Machinery That
Works/Services
NHIS
Then there is the digitisation of
the renewal of National Health
Insurance Scheme (NHIS) with the
result that all NHIS members can
now renew their membership using
their mobile phones
add to this the digitisation of the
Births and deaths Registry which is
nearly complete.
digitisation of the National Lotteries
authority has involved the
Implementation of a digitised, shortcode
mode of accessing the services of
the National Lotteries authority
digital reforms in courts
administration have included an E-
Justice System for online filing
processes; an Electronic Case Tracking
System to enable electronic tracking of
cases; and Electronic Case distribution
system for fair, equitable and
transparent distribution of cases among
judges
Motor Insurance
a digitised motor insurance database
has been implemented to eliminate fake
insurance certificates, while enabling
the police and commuters check the
insurance status of a vehicle through
their mobile phones.
With regards to the purchase of
power for household s, enterprises and
institutions alike, the Electricity
Company of Ghana (ECG) has a
new app which currently allows about
2.8 million ECG customers to buy units
for their meters through their mobile
phone at any time of the day or night.
This app will be available to all ECG
customers by the end of 2020 Services
NO. PROMISES WHaT WE
HaVE dONE SO FaR
The on-line filing of Taxes
commenced in 2019 and pensions
applications are now processed within
two weeks.
In the public health sector, Patient
Records Management Systems (E-
HEaLTHSOLUTION) have been
introduced to completely digitise and
link all facilities within the health
sector nationwide.
Beyond the introduction of this array
of digital applications for public service
delivery, government has also facilitated
the establishment of the requisite
national platforms for two private sector
delivered services, both of which are
absolutely crucial for the transformation
of the Ghanaian economy into a cashlite
one.
This is why government has used its
own institution – Ghana Interbank
Payments and Settlement Systems - and
public purse financing to establish the
platforms on which they run.
Interestingly though it was
introduced initially by a private operator,
which subsequently attracted
competition. In both cases, recognizing
their transformational potentials,
government used GhIPSS, the wholly
owned subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana
mandated to develop and deploy
electronic payments systems, to set up
national, interoperable platforms usable
by all the customers of the erstwhile
competing operators.
another is the Mobile Money
Payments Interoperability System
which allows customers of the three
different mobile money platforms to
transact with each other. It also enables
interoperability between bank accounts,
e-Zwich accounts, and mobile wallets
across all banks and telcos, it is a major
step towards financial inclusion and
cashless payments for services.
More recently, under government’s
instructions and financing, GhIPSS has
also established a Universal QR Code
Payments System which replaces the
several different platforms deployed by
• The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia
various different banks for their own
customers.
Rollout has started. This makes it
possible for retailers to receive payments
on their mobile phones without the
need for a traditional Point of Sale
device. Ghana is the only country in
africa, and one of the few in the world,
with a Universal QR COdE payment
system Combined, all these digital
initiatives are transforming the way
government interacts with individuals,
households, enterprises and institutions
in the delivery of and payment for its
goods and services.
In doing so government is creating a
“Digital reforms in courts
administration have
included an E-Justice
System for online filing
processes; an Electronic
Case Tracking System to
enable electronic tracking
of cases; and
Electronic Case
Distribution system for
fair, equitable and
transparent distribution
of cases
among judges
database that enables faster, more
efficient, better targeted delivery of
public goods and services and which
imminently will facilitate the expansion
of the income tax net to cover the vast
informal sector for the first time ever.
Combined with the ability of digital
channels to reduce, if not completely
eliminate the widespread corruption
which has bedeviled manual
transactions between the public and
government officials, the extension of
the income tax net to the millions of
tax-eligible individuals and thousands
of tax eligible informal sector
enterprises will dramatically increase
government’s tax revenues which up to
now have been notoriously low, with
Ghana’s tax to Gross domestic Product
ratio at barely 12 per cent, which is just
half of the 25 per cent global average for
middle income countries
Transfornation
These platforms and initiatives have
worked together to transform the lives
and businesses of citizens and corporate
Ghana, and is helping transform and
reshape how our economy works.
The benefits of reducing
inefficiencies, tracking inputs and
outflows more accurately, shortening
urnaround time, and ease of access
to required information and services
translate intangible time into tangible
currency and increased productivity.
“One of the key lessons from
ongoing COVId 19 pandemic is that a
robust digital economy is absolutely
critical for growing economies like ours,
not only to enable us to drive growth,
but also to manage critical systems,
from health through manufacturing
and delivery systems in times of crisis”
asserts President akufo-addo “The
Mobile Money Payments
Interoperability System turned out to
be a critical lifeline to individuals and
small businesses, including e-commerce
firms, to send and receive money and
payments, which helped cope with the
disruptions caused by the containment
measures.
“The Ghana Card, the digital address
System, the Mobile Money Payments
Interoperability System, the Ghana.Gov
Payments Platform, and the Universal
QR Code are key enablers if Ghana is to
harness the potential of digital
technologies. Our goal is to link the
Ghana Card and digital address System
databases to the “Birth and death
Registry”, closing the final loop in
identification of citizens and residents.”
The next step is to create a digital
services economy through the
expansion of the Ghana Innovation Hub
project to nurture start-ups to accelerate
the development of applications
software, provide regional e-backroom
services, and enterprise-level software.
If re-elected for a second four year
term, the administration hopes to
leverage on the existing digital
infrastructure and make the necessary
investments and policies to establish
firmly Ghana as the digital services hub
of West africa.