Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has disclosed that all is set for the country’s digital payments systems to be brought together and put on a single platform, which is technically known as interoperability, this month.
According Dr. Bawumia, who was speaking at the Global Business Forum on Africa in Dubai, Ghana has positioned itself to use technology to transform its economy and create a good environment for doing business.
The Vice President also told delegates and potential investors that the government of Ghana has shifted its focus from taxation – as in many other countries in Africa – to production, and is working hard to formalise the economy using technology as one of the pivotal points.
“The view we have taken as government is to move from taxation to production, and therefore we have put in the very incentives that will allow production to take place. We’ve got to formalise the economy, and in Ghana we say let’s take advantage of technology to formalise the economy, which will allow business to work.
“We also need to ensure financial inclusion, and so we are launching interoperability next month. This is to bring together the mobile payment systems to allow their systems to talk to each other, and those of the banks as well,” Dr. Bawumia noted.
“There is a lot of room for growth in terms of industry in Africa, 11 percent of the continent’s combined GDP comes from industry, which is quite low when compared with Asia or Latin America,” He also pointed out during the session entitled ‘Industrialisation – The Path to Growth?’.
Even as he lauded the progress that has been achieved so far, the Vice President noted that developing Africa’s industrial sector is key to driving economic growth.
Dr. Bawumia provided an overview of projects and initiatives being implemented in Ghana with the aim of developing the country’s industrial sector.
“We are moving to a paperless port to remove human interference and minimise corruption. We’ve also adopted a policy of only investing in renewables, which we think will spark a new wave of growth for industry in Ghana.”
He touched on the need for Ghana to formalise its agriculture industry, a move that he says will unlock huge growth potential. He concluded the session by stating that a stable macroeconomic environment is needed to encourage investors and manufacturers to invest and develop Africa’s industrial sector.
The high-level forum, organised by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, took place on November 1 and 2, 2017 at Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The Global Business Forum on Africa has become a reliable platform for exploring the continent’s economic outlook – both current and future – as evidenced by the high-profile attendees that have participated in the event since its inception.
The event is part of Dubai Chamber’s Global Business Forum series, which focus on Africa, Latin America, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
To date, the series has hosted 10 heads of state, 74 ministers and dignitaries, and 5,400 executives as well as a host of influential decision-makers from 65 countries around the world.
By Norvan Acquah-Hayford l thebftonline.com l Ghana
