Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is worried Ghanaians do not fully appreciate government’s digitalization drive.

Speaking at the launch of two new high-level information technology programmes at Accra Business School at Baatson in Accra, Dr. Bawumia said government pursues digitalization, not for its own sake but as a vehicle to transform the economy.

He said government has been able to solve many problems that have faced Ghanaians through digitalization.

Citing the roll-out of a National Identification System, the Ghana card, Dr. Bawumia said its relevance cannot be overemphasized.

“Some of the problems go back to independence. We inherited a problem of no unique national identification system. This has been with us since independence. We had implemented a national identification system for the Ghana card. Today, we have 16 million Ghanaians with unique identities, and that is a major transformation. A lot of people sometimes do not appreciate its impact.”

“If you gave me 1000 interchanges and the Ghana card, I would choose the Ghana card because it has more impact,” he added.

He explained that the Ghana card has made life simpler, “for instance, with the Ghana card, students can now access loans without guarantors.”

The roll-out of the Ghana Card sparked conversations after the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, said the card has fully met the requirements for an E-passport, despite a rejection by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Government had said the Ghana Card has been certified by ICAO, and thus qualifies to be used as an identity card for international travel in place of a passport.

The Vice President had earlier suggested the Ghana card would be recognized as an electronic passport in 197 countries by 2022.

But Shirley Ayorkor Botchway on the floor of Parliament said processes for the acceptance of the Ghana card as a source document for international travel have not been finalized yet.