The mass adoption of connected digital services being rolled out by the government at an unprecedented pace is a key economic driver that would accelerate growth and facilitates job creation, Mr. Joseph Boakye Danquah has said.
Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minnesota Chapter in the United State of America, further argues that the government’s recent policy of digitizing the economy, which is spearheaded by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia would enhance the competitiveness of the Ghanaian economy.
"We all have to be thankful that we have a capable person like Dr. Bawumia who has taken charge and made sure we are formalizing the economy through digitization," the American based businessman added.
Several critical building blocks for the formalization of the Ghanaian economy include ensuring unique identification systems like the Ghana Card, which has been rolled out nationwide, among other systems like the National Digital Property Addressing System, seamless payment system, E-case tracking, paperless port and E-registration of companies.
According to JB Danquah, the aforementioned fundamentals are necessary for national development, asking that, how does interest rate come down in the regime of high risk premium due to banks' inability to uniquely identify borrowers?
Mr. JB Danquah, who has declared his intention to contest the Subin Constituency parliamentary seat, said these in an interview with Neat FM in Accra, while commenting on the 2020 budget statement read by the Finance Minister few weeks ago.
Bawumia's led digitization, according to him, would help lower bank interest rates and enhance the willingness of banks to give out loans, as banks would be able to identify and assess borrowers’ risks of defaulting on individual basis.
While recognizing that it would take some time for the economy to fully realize the benefits that come with digitization, JB Danquah further pointed out that, the system could help to expand the tax net, as lots more businesses and individuals would be traceable.
According to him, digitization would allow the tax net to be expanded thereby enhancing revenue collection by government, leading to less borrowing and debt servicing.
He said as the Finance Minister disclosed in his fiscal statement, all the economic indicators have significantly improved, adding that “government is doing something right”.
Mr. Joseph Boakye Danquah