By:
Robert Kwaku Annor
Ghana will require all
public-sector artificial intelligence (AI) acquisitions to undergo a
centralised technical review, Minister for Communication, Digital Technology
and Innovations Hon. Samuel Nartey George (MP) has announced.
Speaking at the U.S. Embassy
AI Forum in Accra, the minister said the Ministry will coordinate technical
requirements, while the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) will lead
the technical scoping process.
The mechanism is designed to
complement existing statutory public procurement laws rather than replace them.
It aims to prevent vendor lock-in, safeguard Ghana's data sovereignty and
ensure long-term domestic control over critical digital infrastructure.
Under the directive, every
government-acquired AI system will be evaluated against benchmarks covering
interoperability, data protection, cybersecurity, sustainability and mandatory
local skills transfer.
The policy is intended to
operationalise Ghana’s 8-pillar National Artificial Intelligence Strategy,
launched by H.E. President John Dramani Mahama, which targets phased AI
rollouts across key sectors, including finance, agriculture, fisheries,
education, health and communications.
To support implementation,
the government is pairing capital investments, including an upcoming AI Compute
Centre and upgrades to the National Data Centre, with workforce development
initiatives such as the One Million Coders Programme, which has surpassed
141,950 registrations.
The implementation is also
expected to be supported by a forthcoming 10-year National AI Delivery
Framework.
