Government Moves to end ICT Procurement Waste With new Approval Regime
The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Hon. Samuel Nartey George, has announced firm measures to curb waste arising from ICT procurement across public sector institutions, describing the abuse of technology contracts as a major drain on state resources.
Speaking during Vice President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang’s maiden visit to the Ministry, the Minister disclosed that reviews of ICT procurement practices over the past eight years revealed extensive duplication of contracts, with identical systems procured multiple times by different government agencies.
According to him, the same service providers often delivered similar ICT solutions to several institutions and were paid repeatedly for systems that already existed elsewhere in government.
“One of the most troubling issues we have identified is the wastage of public funds,” Hon. George said. “ICT has become a convenient avenue for some individuals to exploit the public purse.”
He explained that in some instances, a single vendor supplied the same solution to as many as five state agencies under separate contracts, a practice he noted contravenes existing procurement laws.
To address the challenge, the Minister revealed that his Ministry has formally written to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), with copies to the Ministry of Finance, to enforce a new commitment authorisation regime for ICT procurements.
Under the new framework, the PPA will not approve any ICT-related contract without prior commitment authorisation from the Ministry of Finance. Additionally, all government ICT procurements must receive clearance from the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), in accordance with the Electronic Transactions Act. NITA will also maintain a central inventory of government ICT assets to prevent duplicate purchases.
“If an institution intends to procure a system that already exists within government, we will simply leverage that system rather than paying for it again,” the Minister stated.
Hon. George cited the Ghana Revenue Authority’s proposed acquisition of an artificial intelligence system known as Publica as a recent example. He explained that NITA granted conditional approval after identifying that sensitive trade data was initially intended to be hosted outside Ghana.
“That was critical national security information,” he said, adding that NITA’s involvement ensured safeguards were introduced to protect state interests.
He also referred to past difficulties in the health sector, where sensitive national data was managed by private entities, as justification for tightening oversight over government ICT systems.
The Minister assured public institutions that the new approval process would not create unnecessary delays, noting that technical assessments would be completed within five working days.
“If the system exists, we will leverage it. If it does not, and it meets the requirements, approval will be granted promptly,” he said.
He further disclosed that the Office of the President has placed a ban on the procurement of new biometric software following findings of widespread duplication, warning that similar risks are emerging amid the rapid push to acquire artificial intelligence solutions.
Beyond procurement reforms, Hon. George highlighted operational improvements at Ghana Post, including a collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that enabled the issuance of more than 100,000 biometric passports within six months, significantly reducing public complaints.
He also outlined plans to reposition Ghana Post as a financial services hub to deepen financial inclusion, particularly in underserved communities, in partnership with the Bank of Ghana.
The Minister raised concerns about the management of Ghana’s .GH country domain, describing it as a critical national digital asset that has historically been administered outside full state control. He announced plans to migrate the .GH root server entirely into state custody and called for stronger government backing to promote the adoption of .com.gh domains by local businesses.
“When a business uses a .com domain, it is perceived online as an American entity,” he explained. “The .gh domain clearly identifies us as Ghanaian.”
Hon. Samuel Nartey George said the reforms are intended to safeguard public funds, enhance data security, and improve efficiency in government’s digital transformation agenda.
“This is about accountability, national security and value for money,” he said. “We are committed to ending waste and building a smarter and safer digital government.”
