Three State institutions including the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Public Services Commission, and the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development have been equipped with modern Information Technology worth about GHS8.9 million as part of efforts to digitize public service to enhance efficiency.
The equipment which was presented by the Office of the Senior Presidential Advisor is to digitize public service to enhance efficiency. The package which formed part of the Public Sector Reform for Results Project (PSRRP), saw the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Public Services Commission, and the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development receive separate equipment to improve service delivery.
Funded by the World Bank, the PSRRP, a four-year program implemented from 2019 to 2023, seeks to improve efficiency and accountability in the delivery of selected services by Selected Entities. The items presented to the DVLA included Desktop Card Printer, Card Print Devices, signature pads, fingerprint readers, and cleaning swab kits, valued at GHS 8, 312, 121. The Public Services Commission on the other hand received video
conferencing equipment, 75’ smart television, laptops, color printers, digital camera, and server wracks, among other items valued at GHS 552,635. The Local Government Ministry also received laptops, color printers, projectors, and wireless routers valued at GHS 104, and 312.
Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, the Senior Presidential Advisor, presented the items to the beneficiary institutions at their respective head offices in Accra. The Senior Presidential Advisor said the equipment was procured to help the beneficiary institutions effectively execute their activities for the benefit of improving service delivery to the people. He said improving efficiency in the delivery of public services through modernization was essential to the growth of the public sector.
He urged the various institutions to “make very good use” of the equipment and maintain it well to serve its purpose of improving service delivery. Mr. Thomas Kusi Boafo, the Chief Executive Officer of the Public Sector Reform Secretariat, said the PSRRP implementation covered 13 Selected Entities, constituting Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, with a $32m credit facility from the World Bank.
He urged the beneficiary institutions to use the equipment effectively and make a case for more support for the Project.
Dr. Janet Ampadu Fofie, Chairperson of the Public Services Commission, said the equipment would enhance the Commission’s supervisory duties and reduce face-to-face interviews which she said cost time and money.
Mr. Osei Bonsu Amoah, a Deputy Local Government Minister, said the equipment would enhance the efficiency of collating data from the various Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
Mr. Akwasi Agyeman Busia, the Chief Executive Officer, DVLA, said the equipment would augment the Authority’s ongoing digitization agenda, and pledged to continuously improve its services.
