Director-General of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Mr Richard Okyere-Fosu, has called for collaborative regulations from stakeholders to regulate digitization for businesses.
According to him, an enabling environment has been created, however, government needs to expand connectivity. This, he explained, will enable them rope in people in the rural communities.
“We also have government cloud which is coming. So, we need the infrastructure and the education to participate in this trend that we call digitisation or digital transformation.
“So, I think it’s a combination and the necessary regulation to allow businesses to thrive. We are in an era right now the regulations are getting plenty; we have different regulators playing different roles. So, we need to look at collaborative regulations. As NITA who regulates the ICT space, I could work with my sister agency… So we can collaborate so that we don’t overburden businesses. This is also another area we need to look at”.
Speaking on the theme: ‘Digitisation, the key to unlocking the Ghanaian dream’, Mr Okyere-Fosu noted that the concerted effort from key institutions will augur well for businesses.
“So, regulation and regulatory compliance is key in all these. Because you can’t create the environment and leave people or businesses to just do what they want to do. We need to shepherd them and make sure that it works for all of us”.
Convenience of cryptocurrency
Commenting on the trends of cryptocurrency and other digital currencies, the NITA boss emphasized the need for its use in the business landscape.
According to Mr Okyere-Fosu, albeit players are getting ahead of regulators in the know-how, it is imperative to involve players and stakeholders in the formulation of regulation in the crypto space.
“It is not new, often at times businesses and trends actually go ahead of regulators. So, what you do in this era is to make sure that the business community is also involved in shaping the regulation. BoG in the early stages of cryptocurrency came out and said well we don’t understand the area. So, what they need to do is to bring people, bring businesses who actually understand… so that you fashion a regulation that will protect and encourage cryptocurrency. We need it because if you look at even AfCFTA and trading across Africa, the issue of settlement is problematic. That is something we need to look at because one country to the other has different settlement processes and all that.
“If I had cryptocurrency, it would make life a lot easier. So, it’s not new news that businesses often or technology often goes ahead of regulations. We all need to kind of work together with the business community and all players to make sure that we craft something that works…”
The Ghanaian dream
Touching on what the Ghanaian dream is, Mr Okyere-Fosu revealed that the equalizer to enjoying the Ghanaian dream is technology. As such, there is the need to incorporate technology in every sphere of life.
“All dreams are not the same; different people have different things. But all our aspirations are to live comfortably, economically and be socially active. So, for me, I think the equalizer is technology irrespective of who you are, as an individual or as a business, you’ve got to embrace technology to transform yourself and the business.
“So, digitization is not just about the internet, mobile money, it’s a bigger issue. It starts from education; we need to equip our young ones early to participate in this digital environment that we find ourselves. The enabling environment needs to be established in the right ecosystem”.
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