The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has responded to criticism suggesting that he has neglected discussions on Ghana’s economic issues as he promotes his digitalisation agenda.
Bawumia, who has long championed digital initiatives as a means to drive economic transformation, clarified that his focus on digitalisation is not a shift away from economic concerns but rather an integrated approach to solving key economic challenges facing Ghana.
His comments come as some political opponents, particularly the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, accused Bawumia of sidestepping pressing economic issues in the run-up to the 2024 general elections.
Speaking at the launch of the National Credit Scoring System, an initiative aimed at improving access to credit for Ghanaians, Bawumia emphasised that digitalisation efforts are deeply intertwined with the health of the economy.
The credit scoring system, which will allow financial institutions to assess individuals’ creditworthiness using digital data, is one of many steps in his larger digital transformation vision.
Bawumia insists that modernising Ghana’s economy through digital tools is a critical part of addressing systemic economic challenges such as access to financial services, transparency, and economic inclusion.
He explained that his vision for a digitized Ghanaian economy is not merely about technological advancement but about creating a system that enables faster, fairer, and more efficient economic interactions across all sectors of society.
Bawumia pointed to the successful implementation of mobile money interoperability as a prime example of how digital initiatives can directly benefit the economy.
Mobile money interoperability, which enables users to seamlessly transfer funds across different mobile networks, has been widely credited with expanding financial inclusion in Ghana.
“When I was pushing for the implementation of these projects, many people said I had abandoned economics to pursue digitalisation. They did not understand that I was just using digitalisation to solve economic problems.
“I remember when I made a statement in 2017 that with the implementation of mobile money interoperability, every Ghanaian will be able to have a bank account, when I said that, many people did not understand it. They even made jokes about it. They did not think it was possible. But today we have made it possible.”
Bawumia launches MyCreditScore to revolutionise credit access
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