Bright Simons, Honorary Vice President of the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, has once again sounded the alarm on what he described as a massive “State Enchantment” masquerading under Ghana’s digitalisation agenda.
In a detailed exposé, Bright Simons critiqued the systemic inefficiencies, opaque dealings, and politically skewed IT contracts that have plagued the country’s digitalisation initiatives, with dire implications for the nation’s fiscal stability.
The renowned policy analyst strongly asserted that Ghana’s much-touted digitalisation drive has devolved into a scheme to funnel public funds to politically connected businesses.
“Some smart entrepreneurs in Ghana saw the signs early and positioned well to ride the wave. They have been rewarded with tens of millions of dollars of public money. In any event, every single one of the projects in the great digital swindle was justified with a solid rationale, on paper.
“Their need in the nation were elaborately established. Implementation was often rushed on the basis of urgency. Financial terms were presented as great for Ghana”.
Bright Simons, Honorary Vice President of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education
According to him, these projects, while presented as critical for national development, often served election-winning purposes, bypassing essential checks and balances.
Bright Simons contended that the Vice President’s political influence was instrumental in pushing through these initiatives. “A specific group of companies with the right connections in the Veep’s office dominated these deals,” he revealed, adding that even strict financial controls, such as those typically imposed by the World Bank, were sidestepped in Ghana’s “marshy political economy.”
Unraveling the Registrar General’s Digitalisation Saga
Bright Simons singled out the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC), formerly the Registrar General’s Department, as a case study of how mismanagement and political interference undermine progress.
For him, the ORC’s e-services, funded by the World Bank and initially developed by Crimson Logic, were heralded as transformative, however, the system has been deliberately neglected, declared redundant, and slated for replacement by new, politically favoured contractors.
Despite the pending launch of a new $7.5 million tender for Crimson Logic software maintenance, Bright Simons claimed the project’s original promise has been deliberately sabotaged.
“Just because a group of companies favoured by the sitting Vice President’s office has been identified to take over. Yet, there is an unevaluated 7.5 million GHS tender for maintenance of the Crimson Logic software with a deadline of 11th December 2024”.
Bright Simons, Honorary Vice President of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education
Recurring Patterns of Failure
This saga is not an isolated incident, according to Bright Simons. He outlined a broader pattern where projects, such as the World Bank–funded e-gates initiative and digital platforms at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), have suffered similar fates.
He pointed out that these schemes are often replaced or sidelined in favour of greenfield systems backed by the same “darling companies” connected to the Vice President’s office.
Bright Simons also critiqued the persistent failure of basic e-services like business name registration and corporate searches. “E-portal services like business name search and registration are a breeze in many African countries but remain a massive hurdle for businesses in Ghana due to frequent downtimes,” he decried.
Margins Group and ICPS in Focus
According to the IMANI’s Honorary Vice President, a recurring actor in this digitalisation narrative is Margins Group, specifically its subsidiary ICPS, which was contracted to digitize Ghana’s corporate registration records.
Despite substantial funding, including World Bank support, Bright Simons revealed that critical services like historical record searches remain non-functional.
“The public search function has been broken for a while now,” he wrote, citing equipment failures and power surge excuses as symptomatic of deeper governance failures.
Bright Simons did not mince words about the urgent need for reform. He described the current trajectory of Ghana’s digitalisation projects as a clear and present danger to fiscal stability.
“Something needs to give,” he warned, urging a sound understanding of how these risks have accumulated and emphasizing the need for strong project accountability.
In a country grappling with economic hardship, Bright Simons’ revelations highlight a troubling misuse of resources that undermines both public trust and the promise of technological transformation.
His exposé underscores the urgent need for greater oversight and transparency in managing public resources and digital infrastructure projects.
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