THE Minister of
Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has reaffirmed the
government’s commitment to boost the Ghanaian economy through local brands and
patronage.
She
said as a key strategy, the government through the Ministry of Communication
and Digitalisation (MoCD) had deployed measures to stimulate local content
development in the communications sector.
Towards
that, the minister said the government had taken a solid decision to leverage
local expertise to build the country’s digital infrastructure.
“Many of the
key projects initiated by the government in the since 2017 like the SIM
registration exercise and digital address system are either done by local
expertise or a consortium of local and foreign expertise,” the minister said this
when a delegation from the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) last Monday
(August 1) paid a working visit to MoCD.
MoCD/AGI collaboration
As
part of the move to deepen the collaboration, the AGI delegation led by its
President, Dr Humphrey Ayim-Darke engaged the sector minister and her team on
ways to use technology to promote local content and stimulate industrial
growth.
The meeting
also discussed ways the two parties can partner for the country to maximise
gains from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as well as to
collaborate to nurture the youth on technology.
Timely
engagement
Mrs
Owusu-Ekuful said the engagement was very timely because there were ways the
two parties could collaborate for mutual benefits.
“I
think this engagement is very timely because there are a lot of synergies in
the activities of the ministry that can facilitate the growth of industries,”
she said.
She
stated that the current government believes that it could use its purchasing
power to grow some strategic sectors of the Ghanaian economy.
Long-lasting partnership
Dr
Ayim-Darke in his initial remarks, commended the ministry and the government
for the drive to digitalise the country’s economy, and said the AGI intended to
build a long-lasting partnership with MoCD.
He
said already the AGI and its members were taking advantage of the
digitalisation drive to aid agriculture production such as cocoa and other
crops.
As
a result, he said the AGI was ready to engage the ministry and other
stakeholders in ways that could promote local content for indigenous
businesses.
“Minister the
digitalisation agenda being promoted by the government and MoCD sink deep into
our strategies as industries. We have started using digitalisation to assist in
distribution of food products.
“We
are excited about your collaboration with the Vice President’s office in
deepening the digitisation agenda,” he said.
The
President commended the minister and her team for the vision to promote the
development of Ghana into a knowledge-based
society and a
smart economy through the use of information communication technology.
Export potential
The
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AGI, Seth Twum-Akwaboah, said technology holds
the potential to make the country sufficient in exports.
"Efficiency
is also key, because if we are not able to produce at competitive price and the
quality is also not good, we cannot export but the major factor to resolve this
challenge is technology,” he said.
Source: Graphic.com.gh