By Doreen Ampofo
Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah has urged Ghana’s educational institutions to embrace opportunities in the digital and artificial intelligence space to support national development and drive West Africa’s digital transformation. He said this requires leveraging research, innovation, and technology to address emerging challenges and opportunities.
Mr. Debrah made the call at the inauguration of the Centre for West Africa Studies for Digital Public Governance at GIMPA. The event coincided with a thanksgiving service, marking GIMPA’s 65th anniversary.
The Chief of Staff noted that artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, digital financial systems and e-governance are reshaping how economies grow, how governments deliver services and how citizens participate in public life.
Ghana and Africa must therefore not be passive observers but active participants in the transformation. He added that it behoves educational institutions to produce relevant research and build the human resource capacity to drive this technological advancement.
‘We cannot build a Ghana we want, a Ghana that is digitally enabled, economically diversified, and globally competitive, without strong institutions that generate relevant research and train the leaders who will implement that research’’ he noted.
He expressed government’s full support for the establishment of the Center for West Africa Studies for Digital Public Governance which he said will be strategic in accelerating Ghana’s digital agenda and position West Africa as a key player in the digital space.
“That is why government allocated 33.3 billion Ghana cedis to education in the 2026 budget. That is why we are pressing our institutions to align with the national digital agenda because the government believes in what this center represents. I want to challenge CWAS and GIMPA to hold each other accountable”, he said.
The Centre is a partnership between GIMPA and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, UESTC. A major component is the establishment of a digital hub that will collect data and information about governance to help African leaders make decisions that are grounded in data. Rector of GIMPA, Professor Samuel Kwaku Bonsu said the hub is expected to be fully operational within a year.
“Many of our governments do not have the requisite data to make effective decisions. We want to mobilise data effectively for use by governments and other institutions to improve development outcomes,”
Prof. Kwaku Bonsu explained that the infrastructural needs have been defined, adding that GIMPA is working closely with their partners in China to ensure that the project is extended across the continent.
Now we are starting in Ghana. But the idea is to extend it and collect data across the continent. And here we are looking at the research foundations and working with the government of China. We encourage our government to also be a part of it.
The event was attended by old students and staff of GIMPA who joined to celebrate the Institute’s 65th anniversary. It was under the theme “A legacy of Excellence, A Future of Digital Transformation.”
