Vice President Dr Bawumia adjudged Digital Leader of the Year

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has been named the Digital Leader of the Year 2019 by the movers and shakers in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry in Ghana.

At a ceremony held in Accra on Friday, June 29, 2019, the Vice President was honoured for his dedication to leveraging technology to formalise the Ghanaian economy, which has seen the introduction of a number of innovations designed to make delivery of public services more efficient.

The Digital Leader of the Year Award was given to Vice President Bawumia at the 9th Ghana Information Technology & Telecom Awards (GITTA) 2019.

Since the NPP government took charge in 2017, Vice President Bawumia has led the charge to formalise the largely informal Ghanaian economy, encouraging fintechs and other stakeholders in the ICT industry to come up with technological solutions to the challenges facing the nation.

This has led to the collaboration between government and ICT firms which has created a reduction in clearing and turn-around times at the country’s ports through the introduction of a Paperless Port system.

The Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority has also seen a reduction in corrupt practices of officials.

Again, there is the introduction of a Digital Property Addressing System, issuance of a National ID card and the provision of banking services to every resident of Ghana through the innovative Mobile Payments Interoperability platform.

The health sector has also benefited from technology as Ghana currently has the world’s largest medical drone programme, delivering critical blood supplies and other medical consumables to rural and hard to reach communities.

Citizens can now renew their National Health Insurance from the comfort of their homes within minutes instead of hours and sometimes days. Plans are far advanced to make the country’s hospitals paperless.

Business registration, procurement and justice delivery are also going digital, with efforts ongoing to digitise the entire economy in the shortest possible time.

Dr. Bawumia at the ceremony lauded the role technology continues to play in national development.

He also assured stakeholders of government’s commitment to put in more effort to produce a digitally-aware population.