Bawumia Projects Ghana To Become First Blockchain-Powered Government In Africa

• Vice President Dr Bawumia says Ghana will soon become the first blockchain-powered government in Africa
• He said that by incorporating blockchain technology into Ghana's governance structure, public sector corruption will be curbed
• This technology will follow the rollout of the e-Cedi, which the vice president believes would help the country fight financial crimes

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has revealed the government's plan to incorporate blockchain technology into the country's governance structure as an anti-corruption mechanism.

This would make Ghana the first blockchain-powered government in Africa.

Incorporating blockchain would allow the government to trace all digital transactions in the governance space.

The technology would become essential following the launch of the much-touted e-Cedi, a digital version of the local currency.

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According to Dr Bawumia, the technology will engender transparency in Ghana's fiscal space and support the government's fight against corruption.

He spoke at the 14th Regional Conference and Annual General Meeting of Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa on "Strengthening Institutions and Promoting Transparency: A Means of Fighting Corruption in Commonwealth Africa" on Thursday, May 9, in Accra.

Dr Bawumia touted the effectiveness of digital tools introduced into the public sector to fight corruption and their ability to make transactions seamless.

He mentioned the ghana.gov portal, a one-stop electronic platform for all public service payments. Since 2020, the portal has generated GHS201 billion for the government.

He also spoke about the digitalisation of passport applications, which increased passport applications from 347,000 to 752,000 and increased revenues generated from the passport office from GHS12 million to GHS94 million between 2018 and 2023.

In his address to the 20 Commonwealth African countries gathered, he urged them to employ digital initiatives to make corruption unattractive on the continent.

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He said the way forward was to invest in digital forensic tools to track and disrupt the corruption value chain.

e-Cedi rollout to be expedited

YEN.com.gh reported that Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia says the government is expediting the rollout of the E-cedi to curb financial crimes and corruption.

The Bank of Ghana (BOG) conceived the e-Cedi, a digital counterpart of the local currency, in 2021.

In 2022, the central bank piloted the e-Cedi in Sefwi Asafo, a town in the Western North Region.

The governor of the Bank of Ghana disclosed that the digital currency is in its advanced stages.

However, before the money goes into circulation, it must undergo three phases: design, implementation, and piloting.

Source: YEN.com.gh