Ghana risks falling behind in the global digital economy unless its civil service embraces institutional reforms and artificial intelligence, Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations Samuel Nartey George warned during a public lecture in Accra. Speaking at the 2025 Civil Service Week Celebration and 2024 Awards Ceremony, Nartey George urged the Office of the Head of Civil Service (OHCS) to accelerate reforms to avoid what he called “the next frontier of data colonisation.”
“If we do not reskill and upskill, we will become redundant,” he said. “Computers did not erode jobs in the civil service; they enhanced them. Those who refused to migrate from typewriters to computers were left behind. The same will happen with AI.”
The minister stressed that Africa’s demographic advantage, 68% of its 1.5 billion people are under 35, and places the continent at a strategic inflection point. But he warned that unless governments can process and protect their own data, that opportunity could be lost to external interests.
“Transformation without vision yields limited results,” he said, calling on government leaders to adopt a whole-of-government approach to digital reform. “The Ministry cannot be the only ICT institution driving AI adoption.”
As part of that effort, the government will convene a two-day AI Boot Camp in the Eastern Region from July 25–26. Attendees will include Cabinet ministers, ministers of State, and designated technical focal points from every ministry. The initiative, developed in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, aims to equip officials with a working knowledge of AI and produce tailored use cases to improve service delivery.
“Every minister will leave that camp with actionable cases,” Nartey George said. “Ministers may change, but institutions must remain strong to ensure that we build a Civil Service that is future-proof.”
The minister also announced that a digital maturity assessment of all ministries has been completed, with bi-monthly implementation reviews to be conducted by the Office of the President. He called on Chief Directors to play a stronger role in institutional leadership and continuity.
To address the growing need for technical talent within the public sector, Nartey George proposed reforms to the civil service’s IT staffing model. Each ministry, he said, should be staffed with a full-spectrum digital team consisting of a network/system engineer, software developer, certified data protection officer, AI officer, and cybersecurity officer.
“The era of relying on a single IT technician is over,” he said.
Under the One Million Coders Initiative, the minister announced the allocation of 200 AI training kits to the Civil Service Training Centre. The goal is to support large-scale digital upskilling and prepare civil servants for emerging roles in data management and AI governance.
He concluded with a call for decisive, ethical action: “This lecture must not be ceremonial. It must mark a turning point toward building smarter, more agile, and citizen-focused institutions, ones that deliver services with efficiency, security, and fairness.”
The address underscored the government’s broader ambition to embed digital capability across its institutions and to position Ghana as a leader in AI-driven governance on the continent.
