Introduction of cashless payments system increases Govt revenue – Ghana

BY YESMAN ANTOH-

VICE President of Ghana Dr Mahamudu Bawumia
( NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS )

NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS, Accra, Ghana- THE VICE President of Ghana Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has disclosed that the piloting of cashless payments at the Ministry of Tourism alone has increased government’s revenue collections by fourfold.

Addressing the Ghana Digital Roadmap Conference on the theme; “Moving Ghana Beyond Aid; Expanding the Local Digital Economy,” at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra-Ghana, Dr Bawumia said the success of the piloted system makes one wonder where the excess monies that where realised have been going until the introduction of this system.

“We piloted this (cashless system) at the Ministry of Tourism as a text case and we found out that government collections went up by fourfold. So where was the money going before the Vice President asked.

He indicated that work is underway to ensure that all other ministries and state agencies are signed into the cashless payment system.

“Work is underway, we expect that by August 1, we will roll out the rest of the government institutions. We think that by June next year, we should have a situation where all government payments will only be done electronically,” Dr Bawumia said.

The agenda of the Ghana Digital Roadmap Conference is to review where Ghana is and to establish the gaps that must be plugged to establish Ghana as the leader in Information Communication and Technology (ICT) innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2023.

The Vice President urged participants at the conference to develop innovative ways to assist government in this regard.

“We believe that now is the time to take a critical look at our seminal ICT policy document which is the ICT for accelerated development policy, identify the gabs and recommend the changes required to provide the right frame work to harness Ghana’s digital economy by nurturing our local ICT industry,”Dr. Bawumia stated.

Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Communication, Mrs. Ursula Owusu Ekuful, the Deputy Minister of Communications, Mr. George Andah, observed that the two day conference would seek to review the ICT4AD policy document in line with digital opportunities and generate ideas to develop a digital strategy and an implementation plan to establish Ghana as the leader in ICT innovation in Sub Sahara Africa by 2023.

It would also help grow the local IT industry beyond the boundaries of Ghana, Bridge urban-rural divide by expanding digital services to rural and underserved communities.

The conference he said would also seek to increase efficiency, improve citizen experience and engagement with government by reducing the mean time to deliver government services to citizens while increasing government revenue generation, increase transparency in government functions and create or access insights into government datasets for innovation and improved decision making.

BY YESMAN ANTOH, NEW AFRICA BUSINESS NEWS, BUSINESS & POLITICAL, GLOBAL CORRESPONDENT

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