Ghana Is On the Rise Again - Vice President Bawumia

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has urged Ghanaians in the Diaspora to actively support the Akufo-Addo government to take Ghana to the next stage of her development.

Dr Bawumia said Ghanaians in the Diaspora could support the Akufo-Addo government to speed up the pace of development by making their skills and expertise available to their compatriots back home.

Addressing the Ghanaian community in the Bay area of San Francisco, United States of America (USA), as part of a five-day working visit to the technology hub of Silicon Valley, California, USA, on Thursday, Dr Bawumia said Ghana was on the path of recovery in all spheres after a year of prudent policy implementation by the Nana Akufo-Addo government.

He said the country inherited a very challenging economic situation, but due to prudent policies being implemented,the country recorded, in 2017, a remarkable economic growth and fulfilled a number of major promises made to the people of Ghana.

He said the Akufo-Addo administration was working hard to build a new, efficient Ghana, using the cutting edge technology of Information & Communication Technology (ICT).

Dr Bawumia said structural economic reforms were beginning to yield positive results, reflecting in a real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 8.5% in 2017, from an inherited 3.7%, adding that that was the fastest growth rate in the world.

He disclosed that Government had also embarked on an ambitious digitisation drive geared towards leveraging the use of technology for the transformation agenda, with the roll-out of the National Digital Property Addressing System, the soon-to-be-issued national ID card, the land records digitisation agenda and efforts to increase financial inclusion via interoperability in the payment systems.

The visit to Silicon Valley, he said, was, therefore, further evidence of the commitment to the digitization drive.

Vice President Bawumia held discussions with the Valley's thought and technology leaders to explore the possibilities of developing strategic insight, decisions and partnerships with the view to helping to enhance the digitisation of the Ghanaian economy to move Ghana beyond aid.

Apart from the leadership of 15 leading local ICT firms, other members of the delegation were Hon. Mohammad Tijanni Habibu, Deputy Foreign Minister; Hon. George Nenyi Andah, Deputy Minister for Communications; Hon. Alex Tetteh Djornobuah, MP for Sefwi Akontonbra and member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education; and Hon Halidu Ali Maiga, Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs.

The Vice President and the delegation returned to Accra on Saturday.

Source: ISD (Rex Mainoo Yeboah)

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