Use data to inform policy choices – WB Chief Economist

Ghana has been urged to strengthen data infrastructure and skills to enable the capturing of relevant data to inform policies aimed at advancing the lives of citizens.

According to the Chief Economist, Infrastructure Vice-Presidency at the World Bank Group, Vivien Foster, data was necessary in enhancing development through promoting accountability, increase business opportunities and enhance services.

Speaking virtually in Accra yesterday during the launch of the World Development Report 2021, she said it was critical Ghana developed the governance, institutional and regulatory frameworks to enhance the collection and processing of data.

Developed by the World Bank, the report which was focused on the Western and Central Africa region, was on the theme “Leveraging Data to foster development: Where does Ghana stand?”

Ms Foster added that for effective management of data, there was the need for Ghana to identify the scale and agency to manage and govern the data to prevent its misuse.

To ensure a multi-stakeholder approach to establishing a data governance framework, she called for the creation of a platform for collaboration and continuous dialogues between various stakeholders and data users in Ghana.

Ghana, she said, had been a regional leader for the digital transformation and developing data-driven digital economy in recent years with investments from both the public and private sector.

Ms Foster commended Ghana for taking steps to introduce progressive systems to tax digital businesses, citing the electronic transaction levy as an example.

Minister of Communications and Digitisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, said currently, the country was grappling with the challenge of data-gathering entities working in silos.

In this regard, she noted that the Ministry was working on a data exchange hub to provide the infrastructure for data sharing across Ghana’s private and public sector.

She said the hub would be managed through a proper data management framework to minimise abuse and misuse of data.

Additionally, she noted that it was the government’s focus to put in place a proper analytics platform that would ensure valuable use and re-use of data.

She further said the Ministry was discussing with other stakeholders on the modalities for the establishment of a data cloud.

Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr Ken Ashigbey, called for increased investments in network connectivity to ensure accessibility.

BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS