By Sarah Baafi
The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Mr. Samuel Nartey George, says government’s priority under the One Million Coders Programme is not just training young people, but ensuring they secure globally competitive certifications and sustainable employment, particularly in remote digital jobs.
Speaking on Wednesday, January 22, 2026, during a working visit by Vice President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang to the Ministry, the Minister explained that partnerships with major global technology firms were deliberately structured to give trainees internationally recognised certificates, which are more acceptable to employers across the world.
“Our dream is not just to train one million people. What happens after they are trained is what matters. How do they get employed, especially in remote jobs?” Mr. George stated.
He explained that while the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT will serve as the programme’s technical training partner, certification will be issued through partnered big tech firms, noting that many international employers do not recognise standalone local ICT certificates.
The Minister likened the model to a distance learning system, where training is delivered locally but certified by globally recognised institutions.
To ensure inclusivity, especially in underserved communities, Mr. Sam George said the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) will convert its facilities across constituencies into training centres, providing free internet access and shared laptops for trainees without personal devices.
He disclosed that government intends to roll out the programme this year in 100 constituencies and at least four public universities, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, with a target of training 400,000 people in 2026.
Mr. Sam George appealed to the Vice President to help engage the Ministry of Finance for additional funding to scale up the programme.
Beyond skills training, the Minister raised serious concerns about wastage and duplication in government ICT procurement, describing it as a major drain on public resources over the past eight years.
“We realised that the same ICT solution was being procured multiple times by different government agencies from the same service provider, resulting in repeated payments for a single system,” he revealed.
To address this, the Ministry has formally written to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and the Ministry of Finance, insisting on strict enforcement of existing laws requiring the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) to approve all government ICT procurements.
Under the new approach, no ICT-related contract will receive procurement approval without NITA’s technical clearance, ensuring government systems are reused where available and preventing unnecessary duplication.
Mr. George cited the Ghana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) proposed acquisition of an artificial intelligence system as a positive example of the reform working. Following NITA’s assessment, critical clauses were added to ensure sensitive national trade data is hosted locally, safeguarding national security.
“If that procurement had not come to NITA, critical national data would have been hosted outside Ghana,” he warned.
