Member of the finance committee of Parliament and Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo, has intimated that the digitalization initiatives being introduced by government is not a substitute for economic development.
Speaking on the digitalization lecture of the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, he averred that there are real economic issues that need to be attended to by the government rather than trying to cover up their abysmal performance with an economic digitalization talk.
“Now that Dr Bawumia is digitalizing everything, your favorite delicacy which is fufu will even be digitalized. Digitalization is not a substitute for economic development”.
Isaac Adongo
Mr. Adongo stated that the initiatives under the digitalization programme should help improve business transactions amongst other which will in turn improve the standard of living of the citizens but that however, is not the case.
“Which economy do you use technology to fix and still the economy is left in shambles? The economy that they are fixing is what we are seeing today that we cannot even afford the living standards anymore”.
Isaac Adongo
GhanaCard to enrich private pockets
Mr. Adongo, touching on the E-passport initiative, revealed that the National Identification Card also known as GhanaCard initiative is meant to enrich a private business. He explained that government, through this, will be making money for an individual because the Ghana card is not owned by government and as such the promotion by the Vice President is more of a business decision than a national interest.
“The fact is whenever a Ghanaian uses the Ghana card, the private business owner is paid an amount of money. Let me tell you, the owner of the business will make about $1.2 billion in the next ten years. We don’t tell you people the truth. It is a business they are into, they don’t tell you citizens the truth.
Isaac Adongo
Mr. Adongo disclosed that when the passports are moved unto the Ghana card, the immigration and the civil aviation service will pay fee to the owner of the Ghana card production. He alleged that the whole E-passport move by the Vice President is a means of taking money from the general public.
There’s nothing unique about initiatives under digitalization programme
Mr. Adongo further questioned why the government invested in the digital means of acquiring a passport and its suddenly moving it to the GhanaCard. He stated that there is nothing unique about what the Vice president is saying on the initiatives under the digitization agenda.
He revealed that the reason why banks do not take the Ghana card is because no agreement has been reached on that adding that the use of the card in banking transactions is not free.
“They know it’s for an individual so why would they use it when they know they will be paying a particular individual”.
Isaac Adongo
The Vice President in delivering a statement on the theme “Transforming an Economy Through Digitalization- The Ghana Story” on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, at the Ashesi University disclosed that there will be a number of benefits in using the Ghana Card in the coming days through the digitalization move by government.
