I’ll not block access to information – President

President Akufo Addo has stated that his administration will run a very transparent government, where access to information will not be cumbersome.

According to him, his government will make data from specific sectors available to the public.

Even though government has expressed commitment to pass the right to information bill, it is yet to come to fruition.

But addressing the Africa Open Data Conference in Accra, the President said his government will rely on open data for effective delivery.

“For us in Ghana, we signed onto the open government partnership in 2011 which has declared open data as a focus area in order to achieve transparent and accountable governance. Despite a brief lull of inactivity, the nation has committed a budget to revamping the Ghana open data initiative.”

“Through this initiative, we have resolved to ensure that government is legally and technically open; that is to say without legal restrictions. Our ultimate goal is to ensure the international open data chapter is easily accessible.” he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful says government will build an innovation friendly system to rope in the private sector to invest and participate in open data initiatives.

“The volume of data produced is expected to grow exponentially and we have to build an innovation friendly ecosystem in which private businesses will find the right incentives for investing in open data initiatives, analyzing that data and mining it to extract the valuable information stored therein for all manner of customized applications.”

This year’s Conference was on the theme “developing Africa through open data”.

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By: Jessica Ayorkor Aryee/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana

President Akufo Addo has stated that his administration will run a very transparent government, where access to information will not be cumbersome. According to him, his government will make data from specific sectors available to the public. Even though government has expressed commitment to pass the right to information bill, it is yet to come ... Read Full Story