More than two hundred delegates from 21 African nations gathered in Accra, Ghana, for the 14th Commonwealth Regional Conference of Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa, have reached a consensus on the importance of utilizing technology as a key instrument in the fight against corruption and corruption-related offenses.
During the conference, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia emphasized the significance of digitalization and advocated for a shift in mindset. He highlighted that by employing the correct digital resources and utilizing them effectively, digitalization has the potential to eradicate severe forms of public corruption, including the intricate networks that support corrupt practices.
I posit to you that with the right tools and their use, we can deploy digitalization to defeat the worst forms of public corruption, including the networks that underpin them…While bribery, revenue leakage, and corrupt networks and value chains are some of the most pressing issues in the fight against corruption that threaten the future of African youth, we also have at our disposal digital technologies to identify members of corrupt networks, to account for revenues collected and to block revenue theft, as well as to track money and suspicious activity.
He stated that by increasing investment and enhancing digital tools, it is feasible to eradicate the most severe types of corruption that significantly impact African economies.
Dr Bawumia, the leader of the NPP Government’s successful digitalization agenda, recently announced the upcoming phase of the Government’s extensive digitalization efforts.
This next phase involves the adoption of blockchain technology, which will ensure the integrity of Government data and records, thereby aiding in the ongoing fight against corruption in the public sector through the utilization of digital tools.
Dr Bawumia further elaborated that the successful implementation of blockchain technology could potentially position Ghana’s Government as the pioneering blockchain-powered Government on the African continent.
We are going to adopt blockchain technology for the government to ensure that all data and transactions in the Government space are transparent and tamper-proof. No one can change them. And so ours could well become the first blockchain-powered government in Africa.
After his presentation, the delegates unanimously supported the Vice President’s proposal to utilize technology in addressing corruption in today’s society, as outlined in their Ten-Point Communique.
Member countries should scale up the use of technology to combat corruption; Anti-Corruption agencies should intensify corruption prevention given the evolving corruption landscape; Commonwealth African governments should commit adequate resources to Anti-Corruption agencies, to ensure the latter’s effectiveness and sustainability at fighting corruption.
