By Ruth Dery
Tema, March 13, GN A – The Reverend Dr. Samuel Worlanyo Mensah, an Economist has reiterated that digitization plays a key role in assisting policymakers to spur economic growth by increasing capacity and productivity.
He said digitization had proven to add value to economic structures and served as an effective anti-corruption weapon that Ghana must take advantage of to fight pervasive corruption in the country.
Speaking at the Ghana News Agency Tema Industrial News Hub Dialogue Platform, Rev. Dr. Mensah who is also the Executive Director of the Centre for Greater Impact Africa added that digitization was a positive tool that disrupted corruption by reducing discretion, increasing transparency, and enabling accountability by limiting human interaction.
He said, “Even though we can never totally eradicate corruption, it could be reduced drastically with artificial intelligence tools to track the activities of officials involved”.
Rev. Dr. Mensah explained that the use of computerized systems reduced human interference, embezzlement of state funds, and easy tracing of transactions.
He stressed that digitization brought more joy than sorrow if properly applied, adding the emergence of new technologies created new ways to produce complex products, leading to the import of jobs back to develop the economy.
Rev. Dr. Mensah reiterated the need for the government to activate policies aimed at revamping key sectors for sustainable growth of Ghana’s economy.
He explained that industries played critical roles in major economic reconstruction, and their blueprints were available for Ghana to learn from and revamp the nation’s economy on the pillars of holistic industrialization.
He said holistic industrialization would carry along its value chain infrastructural development, boost job creation, and transform the economy.
He said the focusing more on industrialization would help in transforming the economy and improve Ghana’s productivity.
Rev. Dr. Mensah urged the government to develop and initiate an aggressive drive to enhance the manufacturing industries and productive sectors.
He suggested that special attention must be given to industries, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, and the blue economy to help achieve the balance of payment surplus to help in the production and exportation of goods.
The Season Economist noted that the government needs to take advantage of the country’s oil exploration and revamp Tema Oil Refinery to refine Ghana’s petroleum product which would aid in effective productivity as the bye product from the crude oil refined would generate additional jobs.
He explained that the raw materials from refined crude oil which was the by-product could also be used as lubricants, engine oil, and brake fluid to expand the economy and create more job opportunities for the youth in Ghana.
Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Manager called on the media and other communicators especially political party-spokepersons to be circumspect and not to inflame passion as the environment was already tensed.
“Let us speak words of comfort and restore hope in the people, in a hazardous environment you don’t strike a match, the fire that you might set will consume all including you, let us work together to rebuild Ghana”.
GNA