Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia says President Akufo-Addo has done things within the last 20 months that have not been done over the past 61 years.
He disclosed that after just 20 months in office, the Akufo-Addo administration has done more to digitise and formalise the Ghana’s economy and society than what pertained in Ghana since independence.
Dr. Bawumia disclosed this at the United Kingdom-Ghana Investment Summit on Tuesday in Accra.
According to him, “The Akufo-Addo government is doing things, life-transforming activities and reforms, what we haven’t done as a nation over the past 61 years, we did it in just in 20 months. “We are implementing reforms that will provide the critical, soft infrastructure that will ensure that Ghana becomes a modern economy.”
He added that “in just 20 months, we have implemented policies and programmes designed to formalise the economy and make life easier for both the ordinary Ghanaian and businesses. For instance, today, through the use of technology, getting a drivers’ licence has been made easier and cut out the need to pay a middleman before accessing an essential service. This is certainly good for the ordinary Ghanaian and business.”
The Vice President stressed that “this government is building a new, confident, modern Ghana through the use of technology and the implementation of critical reforms. We have delivered in this short period, and will continue to deliver in the coming days, months and years.”
Dr. Bawumia also pointed to the implementation of the Ghana Card, National Digital Property Addressing System-GhanaPostGPS, Mobile Payments Interoperability, E-case tracking, Free SHS and the E-registration of companies, as evidence that the government is indeed working.
He maintained that the government was committed to moving Ghana beyond aid while creating the environment for the growth of the private sector.
Other reforms such as online processes for passport acquisition, digitisation of all land records, injection of transparency into the procurement processes by making all processes easily trackable online, and the ongoing development of a national Emergency Number linked with the emergency services, fire and police services which has been designed to give a caller’s location for fast response times were all part of the jigsaw, Vice President Bawumia stated.
“In the area of health, processes are underway to ensure the speedy supply of urgently required blood and medication to isolated and hard-to-access communities through the use of drones. The processes should be completed soon, and I’m happy to say that government is not paying a pesewa for this. It’s being funded by the private sector,” the Vice President disclosed.
Dr. Bawumia also urged the investors to take advantage of Ghana’s business-friendly environment to engage their Ghanaian counterparts.
“While we strive to make further efforts to make Ghana a leading business destination through the formalisation agenda, I will urge you to talk to your Ghanaian counterparts and explore ways we can work together to make Ghana better. Given what we have been able to do within this short period, you can be rest assured that we are poised to achieve even more.”
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