Information minister defends Bawumia’s false claims
Fact check Ghana claims that Dr Bawumia peddled falsehood whiles churning out his facts about digitization has been challenged by Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
An initial report from the Media Foundation For West Africa (MFWA) pointed out some inconsistent claims Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia made concerning the installation of CCTV cameras and Ghana’s Insurance database.
With regards to the national motor insurance database, Dr Bawumia claimed that was its first kind in Africa but according to the foundation it had already been implemented in Nigeria.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah also challenged fact checks findings saying Nigeria’s database was not a national one.
“What has happened in Tanzania and Nigeria are not of a national character like what we have done. Ours is the first of a national character in this manner,” he said.
On the issue of CCTV cameras, Vice President Bawumia indicated that the government had fixed 10,000 CCTV cameras.
Before he made this statement during the lecture, the Minister of National Security had told Parliament that 6,500 CCTV cameras had been installed.
Information Minister in explaining the inconsistency said the Vice President was making reference to the government’s target for the year.
“By December this year, the numbers will be 10,000. It is a work in progress,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah argued.
“At the time we assumed power, we had 800 CCTV cameras across the country. We are heading towards 10,000,” the minister explained.
He also defended the 6,500 that the National Security Minister mentioned have been uplinked.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah was also of the view that such criticism was distracting from the main issues.
“If somebody wants to major on the minors, we are not going to debate that person,” he said.
Dr Bawumia was speaking at a forum at the Ashesi University under the theme: “Transforming an Economy through Digitalization: the Ghana Story” when he made those remarks.
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
