ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
The benefits are all around us, but some claim not to see it and I can only reiterate that there is a quiet revolution rapidly unfolding before our eyes and it is digital!
It is the reality of a comprehensive end-to-end identity management system interlinked with credit management, human security, business facilitation, enhanced government administration and even the improvement of democracy itself.
It is the reality of a new smart working environment across the public services enabled by productivity software and dramatically improved connectivity.
It is the reality of the common platform, Ghana Card, SIM Card Registration, Smart Workplace, e-Transform, Obaatanpa, Trancop, digital addressing, fintechs and the revamp of the national fibreoptic network.
With the AfCFTA Hub operationalised, it will become even harder to ignore the massive transformation created by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s unprecedented Digital Ghana Agenda.
An agenda that when coupled with the big dreams of Pan-Africanism, as finally achieved through AfCFTA, can only launch this beloved country of ours and the entire continent into the dizzying heights of true development.
This will give practical effect to our oft repeated phrase that the private sector is the engine of growth as it will propel our SMEs to another level As the accelerated AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative commences in pilot form with Ghana and six other proactive African countries taking charge, we shall commence onboarding young entrepreneurs, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), startups and all digital marketplace actors across the country onto the AfCFTA Hub, where they can obtain a free AfCFTA Number.
The AfCFTA Number is the powerful seed of a single continental trust-building system that will complement other AfCFTA-enabling instruments such as the PAPSS, MANSA, Digital Green Corridor and e-Tariff mechanisms developed by the AfCFTA Secretariat, African Union, the 4D Consortium and trusted partners like Afreximbank and AfroChampions.
With the AfCFTA number, Ghanaian enterprises will obtain a sure and secure navigational tool as well as a trusted profile to speed up connections across the continent for business.
Together with the AfCFTA Common Transaction ID, the AfCFTA Number will also serve critical anti-fraud and crime-fighting purposes domestically and regionally.
It will build confidence in both the entities and individuals who use their services locally and internationally that they have the requisite capability to deliver on their promised services as they would have been properly vetted and certified by the requisite regulators.
It will create a true one stop shop akin to our own Amazon, EBay or Alibaba.
It is doable and Ghana, the African Black Star, is blazing the trail once again.
For these and many other reasons, we are announcing directives meant to speed up the adoption of the AfCFTA Number and the AfCFTA Common Transaction ID frameworks in Ghana.
Beginning immediately, all persons and enterprises engaged in the business of courier, postal, delivery, logistics, ride-sharing, e-commerce, digital trading and any enterprise of that nature are required to obtain an AfCFTA Number at no cost at which is the AfCFTA Hub Gateway.
The regulation of such enterprises which hitherto has been a grey area will be strengthened by requiring electronic registration with Postal and Courier Services Regulatory Commission, the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) and the Cybersecurity Authority through the digital interface available on the AfCFTA Hub at The various regulatory functions of reporting, complaints management, penalties and fine management, licensing, certification and the like shall be conducted electronically on this platform.
As more African countries onboard, as part of the upcoming Guided Trade pilot, the emergence of a one-stop- shop for regulatory compliance across the subregion should make the lives of entrepreneurs and their customers very easy.
All one needs to do to find out if any courier company, SME or e-commerce entity is safe to do business with is to check their AfCFTA Number and transaction ID.
With the AfCFTA Number widely adopted and regulatory certification taking place on a unified platform, the process of validating the background of any commercial entity should become highly automated, quick, and hassle-free.
It will also enable the different digital marketplaces, platforms, networks and e-commerce systems to collaborate and deliver even higher value for all Ghanaians and citizens of AfCFTA member states.
We see examples of such cross-platform connectivity currently in place in India, where the Open Network for Digital Commerce is accelerating the uptake of e-commerce by eliminating gaps and conflicts among providers.
Such multistakeholder interoperable ecosystems are vital for expanding the benefits of digitalisation, e-commerce, virtual marketplaces and e-services to underserved populations in rural areas and among the urban underclasses.
We see similar developments in Estonia, Turkey, and Dubai.
We intend to become global pacesetters in how government, working together with an intergovernmental authority like the AfCFTA Secretariat and the private sector, can roll out smart networks that deliver benefits for all consumers, business, agencies and other critical actors.
This platform is akin to the PanaBIOS initiative that enabled the safe reopening of our borders and was also the product of multi sectoral and cross continental collaboration.
Ghanaian ingenuity and innovation powered both systems, I’m proud to announce.
The purpose of convening this forum, is to refine and enrich this obvious endgame.
By making it mandatory for all businesses and enterprises running delivery, courier, logistics, postal, marketplace and digital commerce activities to register electronically with the right and relevant regulators, we expect online service providers such as Uber, Glovo, Bolt, Jumia, Tonaton, Yango, Amazon and others to ensure that all businesses registered on their platforms promptly secure their AfCFTA Number and start taking the necessary steps to integrate their transaction processing systems with the AfCFTA Hub.
Done properly, all customers of such businesses and services will be able to verify and validate their regulatory and compliance status, thereby increasing trust in the marketplace, boosting uptake of digital services, suppressing fraud, and increasing the efficiency of doing business in Ghana and beyond.
Because the AfCFTA Hub is also being rolled out in other markets, businesses would find that the benefits of an AfCFTA Number and the AfCFTA Common Transaction Framework extends well beyond Ghana.
The telecom industry, in particular, should benefit from the related policy of deploying the AfCFTA Hub as a common fraud reporting node and blacklist database harmoniser because of this regional element.
Without regional solutions, criminals will exploit the gaps among countries to evade apprehension.
The NCA, the Ghana Chamber of Telecoms, the Ghana ISP Association and related bodies are strongly urged to speed up the rollout of the AfCFTA Hub across all telecom networks as a common anti-fraud engine, business directory service and AfCFTA Implementation Accelerator.
This should make it more difficult for fraudsters to use online sales and mobile money payments for online transactions as a means to defraud the unsuspecting public as more trade moves online.
The rollout of the AfCFTA Hub to ensure that Ghanaian businesses have a trusted profile beyond Ghana, to strengthen the hands of industry and regulators to fight fraudsters who will also like to use AfCFTA to regionalise their nefarious activities, and to facilitate marketplace convergence and regulatory efficiency, thereby accelerating the integration agenda of AfCFTA, is an idea long overdue but one that is finally here.
With your inputs and ideas, distinguished stakeholders, we can make it not merely successful but spectacular!
I am very happy, on behalf of the government, to declare the AfCFTA Hub officially launched in Ghana!
1 “The Government of Ghana is determined to provide the necessary digital infrastructure, a conducive legal and regulatory environment, build digital capabilities to enhance the adoption and use of ICT and digital innovation, and close all digital gaps to propel our digital transformation.
In pursuit of this, Ghana reiterates its commitment to working with the ITU to achieve its strategic objectives for the benefit of all ITU Member States.”
Quote from Ghana By.
Ursula Owusu-Ekuful .MP (Minister for Communications and Digitalisation) GHANA STATEMENT STATEMENT BY HON.
URSULA OWUSU-EKUFUL, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITALISATION, DELIVERED TO THE 2022 PLENIPOTENTIARY CONFERENCE (PP-22) OF THE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION, BUCHAREST, ROMANIA Honourable Chairperson, The Secretary-General of the ITU, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Colleagues and Delegates On behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Ghana, I extend our sincere appreciation to the Government of Romania for hosting the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (PP- 2022) and for the warm welcome and hospitality accorded to my delegation and I, since our arrival in the beautiful city of Bucharest.
Chairperson, please accept our heartfelt congratulations on your election.
As we proceed to set the Union’s General Policy direction, adopt the 4-year strategic and financial plans, elect the senior management team of the Union and Member States of the Council, we trust in your capabilities to steer this conference to a successful end.
Chairperson, Secretary General, Excellencies, Ghana is fully committed to the strategic direction set by the ITU to ensure the universal connectivity that will propel the needed global digital transformation.
Closing the digital divide to facilitate equitable connectivity, which is vital to support the economic transformation of Ghana, is our primary objective.
We are of the opinion that we can transform Covid19 from a global crisis to an opportunity through digital technology.
In this respect, the Government of Ghana, led by His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Co-Chair of the Group of Eminent Advocates for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and also a firm believer in the power of digital technology to drive socio- 2 economic development, is actively implementing our digital Ghana agenda.
This is intended to position Ghana as the digital gateway to the continent.
Indeed, the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with the Secretariat headquartered in Ghana is a pointer to the African Continent-wide marketing strategy powered by digitalisation.
We are therefore extending our digital infrastructure to our borders to enable seamless connection to our neighbours.
Our Government has also introduced initiatives to narrow the digital divide and empower citizens to embrace the use of ICT.
We are implementing a Rural Telephony project to connect over 3 million people.
These previously unconnected people now have equal access to the innovations introduced by the Government in Ghana’s digital transformation journey.
They include: a) mobile money interoperability which has brought over 15 million previously unbanked persons onto the financial digital platform.
b) The National Identity Card as a single purpose e ID for all digital transactions to prevent identity theft and cyber fraud.
c) Digital skills development offered through a nationwide network of Digital Transformation Centres to benefit over 20,000 Women Entrepreneurs, Master Trainers, Youth and Children in Coding Clubs over the past 12 months.
d) focused interventions to reduce the gender digital divide and create opportunities for the youth through the Girls in ICT program and nurturing of new businesses at Digital Incubation Centres.
To ensure a secure and resilient cyberspace for sustained digital transformation, utilising ITU guidelines, Ghana is actively promoting cybersecurity not only for our benefit but for the sub- region as a whole.
Ghana’s ranking on the 2021 ITU Global Cybersecurity Index improved to 86.69%, up from 32.6% in 2017.
We seek partnerships and international cooperation to do even better for our entire sub-region.
Chairperson, Ghana, remains an active member of the ITU, fully committed to the work of the ITU Council, and we will continue to align our goals with the ITU strategic plan, which will be adopted here in Bucharest.
Ghana considers the collaborative platforms initiated by the ITU and the various regional and global partnerships essential to the growth of not only the Africa Region but all Member States for our collective benefit.
To this end, Ghana will continue to serve the ITU community, and as we seek reelection to the Council, we are counting on your vote and support to retain Ghana as a Council member to continue serving you diligently.
I wish this ITU Plenipotentiary Conference every success.
1 STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITALISATION OF GHANA HON URSULA OWUSU-EKUFUL (MP) AT THE MINISTERIAL ROUNDTABLE SESSION ON "BUILDING A BETTER DIGITAL FUTURE FOR ALL" IN BUCHAREST AHEAD OF THE ITU PLENIPOTENTIARY CONFERENCE-2022 ON 25TH SEPTEMBER 2022 Honorable Chair and Romania’s Minister for Research, Innovation and Digitalization; The Secretary General of the ITU; Your Excellencies; Distinguished Colleague Ministers; I join you all to commend the Government of Romania and its Minister for Research, Innovation and Digitalization for their warm hospitality and this timely Ministerial Roundtable.
We reaffirm our commitment to leave no one digitally behind and we can achieve this as we collectively focus our attention, within the next 8 years, towards the attainment of the ICT- enabled sustainable development goals and targets by 2030.
The Government of Ghana, under the able leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo, Co-Chair of the Group of Eminent Advocates for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, is committed to the global strategy of working together to improve lives everywhere through technology deployment.
This is even more critical as the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies of all nations, makes it imperative for our governments to accelerate digital transformation as the key for our economic recovery.
We must not waste the pandemic Ghana is facilitating the expansion of digital infrastructure to open up broadband access to accelerate the provision of meaningful content and smart services to benefit all citizens.
Through the adoption of a whole-of-government approach to digitalise and transform public services, including government content in the health, education, local governance, agriculture legislative, judiciary sectors, to mention just a few, services are provided online to the benefit of the citizenry.
2 The bridging of the digital divide is a major concern of Government and we continue to create digital opportunities for the marginalised, the elderly, and people in rural, remote, and underserved areas under our Universal Telecommunications/ICT Fund Management.
To ensure inclusiveness, inculcating basic digital literacy in our educational curricula and community-based digital laboratories is ongoing, as we are mindful that digital skills development is the cornerstone of digital transformation.
Ghana has prioritised digital gender equality and women and girls are encouraged to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
We are committed to a cross-sectoral approach to development and enhanced collaboration with the private sector to aid rapid digital transformation.
The Government of Ghana continues to work towards the creation of a fair regulatory environment and stability through the development of new spectrum farming policies to encourage the private sector to roll out new generation infrastructure and provide affordable and meaningful connectivity.
Hon Chair, Distinguished Colleagues; Building confidence, trust, and security of our cyberspace to promote a safe digital /ICT ecosystem has been our major priority.
We have ensured that guided by the guidelines provided by the ITU and other global cooperation networks, we work with our neighbours to build a Regional cyber space that is resilient to attacks.
Hon Chair; I end by stating that Ghana is committed to the global growth strategy that we have given ourselves under the guidance of the ITU to ensure that all nations pursue a path of digital transformation that will enhance meaningful universal connectivity and access.
Thank you all for your kind attention.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS, DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AND INNOVATIONS Forum organised by Africa Media Bureau, 26th September 2025 – Alisa Hotel, Accra Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, At no point in our history has the question of broadcasting and its future been more urgent than it is today.
Broadcasting is not only a channel for information and entertainment; it is a pillar of national cohesion, a driver of innovation, and a safeguard of democratic participation.
This forum, therefore, addresses the choices we must make as a nation to secure a resilient and forward-looking media landscape.
I commend the Africa Media Bureau for collaborating with our Ministry and other partners, for convening this dialogue at such a critical juncture.
By bringing together policymakers, regulators, broadcasters, and industry actors, this platform enables us to ask hard questions, assess our progress, and chart a path that balances policy, technology, and global best practices with Ghana’s unique aspirations.
Current State of Ghana’s Media Sector The role of broadcasting in Ghana’s democratic life, social cohesion, and economic development cannot be overstated.
It remains the primary medium for news, education, cultural expression, and national conversation.
Ghana’s media is rightly celebrated as one of the most vibrant in Africa, with over 700 FM stations, more than 100 television channels, and a rapidly expanding digital ecosystem.
This vibrancy is in numbers.
The question of media quality must be however considered very seriously.
Despite the numbers, challenges persist.
Some FM and TV stations remain non - operational years after authorisation.
Others face compliance issues relating to licensing, content standards, and spectrum use.
These undermine both service delivery and public confidence.
Added to these are technological disruptions, shifting consumer behaviour, and economic pressures that demand deliberate and responsible policy evolution.
Financial sustainability, in particular, is a pressing concern.
Many broadcasters struggle with high operational costs, growing competition from digital platforms, and fragmented advertising revenues.
These realities necessitate innovative business models and partnerships that strike a balance between viability and quality.
Policy and Regulatory Interventions This forum coincides with heightened public concern about the affordability, quality, and fairness of broadcasting services.
A new paradigm is required to propel the industry forward.
The Ministry is reviewing Ghana’s broadcasting policy framework to refle ct the realities of digital convergence —where radio, television, and internet -based broadcasting increasingly overlap within a single ecosystem.
In light of this, my Ministry would collaborate with the Ministry of Government Communications and other key stakeholders to take a dispassionate look at the current Broadcasting Bill, with a view to making it reflective of the nuanced realities of today’s world.
The Government, working with the NCA, is taking steps to ensure compliance with the conditions of broadcasting authorisations.
Recent audits of FM and TV authorisations, together with spectrum monitoring exercises, are to ensure that only compliant and operational stations remain on air.
This protects spectrum integrity and strengthens the credibility of our authorisation regime.
I urge all broadcasting authorisation holders to do what is right.
Apply for renewal on time.
Pay your fees.
Comply with the tech nical regulations.
As your presenters hold the Government to account, please ensure that you maintain your authorisations in good standing with the regulator.
Sustainability of the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) Ecosystem The Government of Ghana established the national DTT transmission network in 2016 under the leadership of the then Minister, Honourable Edward Omane Boamah.
The strategy then was for the Government to support the industry with the investment in the network and to gradually cover the operational costs through payment by TV stations as follows: zero fees for the first year, 50% of the price in the second year, 75% of the cost in the third year and then full cost recovery thereafter.
Following the change of Government, the Policy direction was not implemented until much later, when my predecessor attempted to introduce fees for DTT operations and maintenance.
However, the industry association, GIBA, went to court, and there has still not been an implementation of the cost recovery arrangements.
The over 45 stations on the platform have not paid any fees for the operations and maintenance of the transmission network for almost a decade.
The Government of Ghana has borne this cost over the period, thereby subsidising private enterprise.
We have to come to the table to establish a straightforward arrangement for the financial sustainability of the national DTT platform.
The Government is working to expand the platform due to high demand for slots.
Whilst we do this, we must commence discussions on how the stations using the platform can contribute to the operations and maintenance.
I will be convening a meeting of stakeholders on this matter in due course.
The free ride bus is running out of gas, and we need to find a sustainable means of fueling the DTT bus.
Technology and Global Best Practices Ladies and gentlemen, globally, broadcasting is undergoing a rapid transformation.
Artificial intelligence, automation, 5G, and hybrid content delivery platforms are transforming the way content is created, distributed, and consumed.
For Ghana, these developments present both challenges and opportunities.
To remain competitive, broadcasters must embrace digital transformation, adopt new technologies, and invest in skills development to stay ahead of the curve.
Partnerships with telecom operators, technology providers, and international organisations will be critical in this regard.
Equally, our regulatory frameworks must benchmark against global best practices, ensuring interoperability, safeguarding consumers, and fostering innovation while protecting Ghana’s national interests.
While the Ministry is supportive of the use of new media to augment traditional media in the dissemination of information and the provision of educational and entertainment content, new media must subject itself to the same rigours of conventional media.
I t is wholly unacceptable and indeed undemocratic for us to have differing standards for new and traditional media broadcasts.
Once you broadcast, the ethics and standards of the craft must govern your operations.
I am not speaking of censorship but regulation.
The media, be it traditional or new, cannot be said to be above regulation.
It cannot be the Wild West, where incredulous allegations are made, reputations are damaged, and images are soiled beyond repair simply for clickbait.
I cannot and would not, as the Minister for the sector, seek to regulate what any media outlet publishes.
That is your democratically protected editorial discretion.
In the same vein, my democratically mandated role is to regulate through my plethora of regulators, how your editorial discretion is broadcast.
As the great Founder of our beloved Nation, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah put it in his book, Neo-colonialism: The last stage of Imperialism, and I quote, “if by their fruits we shall know them, then they must first grow the fruits.”
We must work together within the remits of our mandates to ensure the protection and longevity of our democracy.
You must be responsible in your broadcast, and I must exercise caution in overseeing my regulatory responsibilities.