Accra: Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has called for stronger collaboration among ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) and other state institutions to ensure the prudent use of national resources and accelerate Ghana's development. She emphasized the importance of collective effort, cautioning against institutional silos and turf wars that could undermine efficiency and weaken the country's overall development agenda.
According to Ghana News Agency, the Vice President made these remarks during a working visit to the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation. During her visit, she engaged with the Minister, Mr. Samuel Nartey George, management, and heads of agencies under the Ministry. The visit aimed to close perceived gaps between the Presidency and MDAs and to obtain first-hand information on the successes, challenges, and constraints facing the institutions.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang noted that success at every level of government ultimately translates into national success, highlighting the shared responsibility of public officials in advancing Ghana's progress. She praised the Ministry for its ongoing reforms, especially the review of outdated legislation and efforts to streamline digital governance.
She warned against duplication and waste, stressing the need for efficient use of limited national resources. Addressing challenges in the digital space, she underscored the importance of accountability in communication, especially in an era marked by anonymity, misinformation, and hate speech. The Vice President emphasized the necessity of national stability as a prerequisite for development.
Expressing strong interest in the Government's flagship One Million Coders Programme, Professor Opoku-Agyemang urged long-term planning to ensure that trainees are productively absorbed into the economy. She encouraged the Ministry to develop homegrown digital solutions while welcoming partnerships with global technology firms.
Mr. George briefed the Vice President on key reforms and projects within the Ministry and its agencies, including a comprehensive review of the Legislative Framework. He described many existing ICT laws as outdated and announced that 15 new and amended bills were at various stages, covering areas such as electronic communications, cybersecurity, data protection, and digital economy development.
Highlighting the One Million Coders Programme as the Ministry's flagship initiative, Mr. George explained that partnerships with global technology firms, including Google, MTN, Huawei, and Telecel, were aimed at providing internationally recognized certification and improving the employability of beneficiaries. Despite financial constraints, the programme was being implemented with support from agencies like the National Communications Authority and the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications.
To curb waste in government's ICT procurement, Mr. George stated that the Ministry was collaborating with the Public Procurement Authority and the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) to prevent duplication of systems across MDAs, protect sensitive national data, and ensure value for money. He also noted that the Ministry had adopted a fully paperless internal system to enable digital processing of documents from receipt to approval.