In his national address on February 8, 2024, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party and Vice President of Ghana, highlighted digitization as a key focus area of the government. He commended the strides made in delivering e-government services, citing recognition in the UNDP 2022 E-Governance Index.
According to Dr Bawumia, Ghana holds the top position in West Africa and ranks fourth across the entire African continent in terms of E-Governance.
Fact-Check Ghana has verified the claim and presents the facts below.
Claim: “According to the UNDP 2022 E-Governance Index, Ghana is ranked number one in West Africa and number four in the whole of Africa in terms of E-Governance and ahead of countries such as Rwanda, Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Kenya and Uganda.”
Verdict: False
Explanation: The United Nations E-Government Index is a benchmarking tool that assesses and evaluates the e-government status of UN member states, considering factors such as online service availability, telecommunications infrastructure, human capital development, and overall ICT usage within government operations.
It provides insights into the extent to which governments are leveraging digital technologies to improve governance, transparency, and efficiency.
While the data suggests that Ghana is indeed leading in the sub-region (West Africa), the index ranked Ghana 106th globally and 7th on the regional table (Africa) contrary to Dr Bawumia’s claim. Ghana came after South Africa, Mauritius, Seychelles, Tunisia, Morrocco and Egypt. See the rankings below:
In conclusion, Dr Bawumia’s claim regarding Ghana’s ranking in the whole of Africa on the UN 2022 E-Governance Index is inaccurate based on the available data.
