By Benjamin Adamafio Commey
Accra, Sept. 22, GNA – Government will regulate artificial intelligence (AI) risks without stifling innovation, Mr Samuel Nartey George, Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, has said.
He said the Government would create a regulatory framework to protect citizens and businesses while allowing responsible experimentation and technological development.
Mr George gave the assurance when he virtually addressed the opening of the Second Pan African AI and Innovation Summit 2026 in Accra on Tuesday.
“We will regulate risks and harms, not curiosity,” he said, explaining that regulations would distinguish between low-risk experimentation by students and high-risk AI systems used in lending and other critical decisions.
Mr George said Ghana had moved beyond debating whether Africa should have a place at the global AI table and was now focused on developing the skills, infrastructure, data governance and policies needed to participate on its own terms.
He said implementation of Ghana’s 10-year AI strategy had begun, with 247 public-sector personnel trained in AI and performance indicators introduced to track AI adoption across Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Mr George cited the Ghana Revenue Authority’s deployment of Publican AI, an AI-enabled system which he said had increased revenue collection at the ports by about US$4 million a day.
On skills development, he said the One Million Coders programme had recorded 141,959 registered accounts, nearly 30,000 active learners and more than 6,000 completions as of early August.
”Our target is one million, and 6,000 is not a victory lap. It is the floor, not the ceiling,” he said.
The Minister said Government would deepen collaboration with 11 public universities and make participation in the coding programme compulsory for Level 100 students during the academic year.
He also said Cabinet had approved a US$250 million investment in national computing infrastructure and AI applications to support researchers, universities and start-ups.
The summit was organised in partnership with the Ministry, the University of Ghana Digital Youth Village, Brandeis University School for Global Development and Sustainability, the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, and Estonian Business Angel Network.
It was held on the theme: “Scaling Africa’s Ethical AI & Innovation Ecosystem: Building Youth Capacity, Policy, Partnerships and Skills.”
Madam Thelma Quaye, Chief Digital Infrastructure, Skills and Empowerment Officer at Smart Africa, called for stronger continental coordination and interoperability in AI development.
She said fragmentation in digital identity, payments, data and regulatory systems could constrain African innovators’ ability to scale, while countries could retain policy sovereignty and make their systems interoperable.
“We need coordination, not uniformity,” she said, describing AI as an economic, industrial and geopolitical issue requiring collaboration beyond technology ministries.
Madam Quaye urged African countries to prioritise interoperable digital foundations, coordinated AI governance, and investment in computing capacity, research, talent, datasets and start-ups over the next 24 months.
Mr Chris Halliday, Deputy British High Commissioner to Ghana, said African countries should help shape AI systems, regulations and markets around their languages, needs and priorities rather than remain passive consumers of technologies developed elsewhere.
He said successful AI adoption required reliable infrastructure, quality data, technical skills, research, investment and public trust.
Mr Halliday said responsible AI was not a barrier to innovation but a foundation for building public confidence and moving successful projects from pilot stages to wider implementation.
“The future of AI in Africa should not be written elsewhere and imported. It should be built here, shaped here, and owned here,” he said.
Mr Halliday said the UK-Ghana partnership could support locally shaped and responsibly deployed AI development capable of delivering practical benefits.
He urged government, academia, industry and civil society to identify priority problems, address capability gaps and build partnerships to take AI solutions to scale.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Benjamin Adamafio Commey