By Prince Acquah
Cape Coast, March 27, GNA – Mr Manish Gupta, the Indian High Commissioner, has lauded Ghana’s technological and digitalisation drive towards development and urged the government to double up on that path.
He said technology played a big role in economic development and provided a solid foundation for transparency and integrity in the delivery of public services in the most efficient manner.
Alluding to India’s success story, he recommended that every household in Ghana should have a bank account, a biometric identification card (Ghana card) and a mobile phone to help formalise the economy expeditiously and carry everybody along.
Mr Gupta made the remarks during a meeting with the media in the Central Region, together with the leadership of the Department of Geography and Regional Planning, University of Cape Coast (UCC), as part of his three-day working visit to the Central Region.
The Ambassador, who is barely three months in Ghana, later paid courtesy calls on Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong, the Vice Chancellor of UCC, and Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II, the Oguaamanhen at the Emintsimadze Palace.
He also visited the Central Regional Coordinating Council and the Regional Office of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Cape Coast.
He had paid a visit to the Elmina Castle on Monday and rounded up his tour at the Komenda Sugar Factory, which was funded by the Indian Exim Bank.
The Ambassador stressed that it was crucial to absorb technology for proper planning and integrate the various systems, adding that digitalising all public infrastructure, for instance, would enhance services such as passports and taxation.
“When you do away with human interface in dealing with the public, life is much simpler,” he said, commending Ghana’s efforts so far.
Mr Gupta expressed the Indian Government’s commitment to strengthening the bilateral partnership with Ghana for mutual development, particularly in the areas of education, health, energy, technology and manufacturing.
Highlighting India’s longstanding relationship with Ghana, he said his country would go beyond the Government-to-government engagement, to the level of people-to-people.
Touching on food security, he said Ghana had the potential to become a net food exporter and food basket for the West African sub-region without depending on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) foods.
Ghana had the ideal climatic and soil conditions for agriculture and needed the right kind of investments to be food-sufficient, he said.
He, therefore, urged the Government to focus on investing more in the grassroots, especially by training and supporting farmers and adopting the best farming practices.
“While the Planting for Food and Jobs policy was a good start, Ghana could do better. We should not be depending on anybody for food”.
On health, the Ambassador said India was doing exceptionally well in the sector, particularly with the production of pharmaceuticals and called for deeper cooperation in that area.
As Ghana joins the rest of the world to transition to renewable energies, he was looking forward to a closer collaboration between the two countries on the production of solar energy given Ghana’s excellent weather conditions.
He expressed satisfaction with the performance of the media so far.
Professor Kofi Nyarko, the Head of the Department of Geography and Regional Planning, at UCC, expressed gratitude to the Ambassador for his visit and commitment to work with the University.
He said UCC had had a high level of collaboration with the Indian High Commission for a while and was determined to continue that path because India had a lot to offer.
GNA