Ghana to add 16k digital govt services as part of $200M World Bank project

The drive to expand digital government services in Ghana is continuing with the government aiming to add about 16,000 new services to a dedicated portal dubbed Ghana.gov before this year runs out. The upgraded system is expected to go live in the last quate of 2025 and is part of Ghana’s digital transformation efforts backed by World Bank funding.

In a recent announcement, the country’s Minister of Communication, Digital Technologies, and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, said the decision aligns with efforts to strengthen the national digital government ecosystem and make access to services much easier.

Speaking during a quarterly sector press briefing, George said a move to upgrade the system is ongoing thanks to collaboration from the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), according to Graphic Online.

Already Ghana.gov currently has between 1,500 and 2,000 services accessible on it, but the plan to exponentially increase the number of services underscores the Ghanaian government’s commitment to modernizing public service delivery, according the minister.

He also mentioned that the Ghana Card is integrated into the system which is built with a user-friendly interface, to facilitate identity verification and authentication processes for individuals and businesses.

In addition to facilitating access to public services, the government says the portal upgrade will also help improve transparency and reliability in public transactions.

The move to progressively digitize public services is part of the Ghana Digital Acceleration Project supported by the World Bank.

It aligns with the objectives of Component 2 of the project which aims to support the country in modernizing digital government services by “establishing an agile and user-centric digital government model in Ghana.”

The project, which went effective in June 2023 and will run till June 2027, has four major components and is financed at a total cost of $200 million.

The project, among other things, also intends to lay the groundwork for a safe and inclusive digital transformation drive, support digital transformation of the productive strategic sector, and provide management and implementation support.

As the country pursues its digital public infrastructure implementation, it has been advised by a UN official to close infrastructure gaps so as to enable it reach its economic growth goals.

Last October, the government also launched a mobile application to facilitate access to digital government services. CitizenApp Data Interoperability System (CADIS), as the platform is called, allows identity verification using the Ghana Card and the user’s phone number.

In the meantime, there is some advocacy for Ghanaian authorities to explore the full potential of the Ghana Card. An analysis published by Ghana Web argues that seven years after the national digital ID was established, it is yet to be fully optimized.

According to the argument, beyond being used for identity verification and authentication for basic daily transactions and access to public and private sector services, the card should also be linked to other major sectorial services.

The piece recommends that in order to make the most of its multifunctionality, it must be fully integrated with the healthcare sector, banking and digital payments, business registration, electronic voting and transportation, among others.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometric authentication  |  digital government  |  digital inclusion  |  Ghana  |  Ghana Card  |  government services  |  identity verification  |  World Bank