Johannesburg: AfricUpdate – News Desk
The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Hon. Samuel Nartey George (MP), has urged government institutions to enhance AI readiness and implement cost-saving IT reforms in response to rising cybersecurity threats. Speaking at a stakeholder session on Artificial Intelligence readiness for selected Ministries, held at the Ministry of Finance, the Minister revealed that recent cyberattacks had targeted multiple government portals, including attempts to manipulate human resources databases.
He attributed the breaches largely to poor personal cyber hygiene, such as logging into official email accounts on unsecured public devices. Hon. Nartey George announced plans to work closely with the Cyber Security Authority to enforce stronger security protocols, improve user training, and ensure compliance with national standards.
The Minister also outlined a phased AI rollout targeting five priority Ministries-Finance, Interior, Lands and Natural Resources, Fisheries and Aquaculture, and his own Ministry. He explained that AI deployment would follow assessments of each institution’s digital maturity and aim to reduce inefficiencies, digitize workflows, and cut operational delays. This initiative will require data standardisation and full utilisation of Ghana’s National Data Centre. On cost-saving measures, the Minister highlighted the success of centralised licensing arrangements with Microsoft, which have saved the government tens of millions of dollars.
He indicated that similar consolidation of enterprise software contracts is planned to eliminate unnecessary spending. Regarding infrastructure, he confirmed that the National Data Centre is scheduled for an upgrade to meet current and future hosting demands, with funding discussions ongoing with the Ministry of Finance. The session also reviewed the National AI Strategy, identifying practical use-cases for the five pilot ministries, with implementation planned for 2026. The Minister urged the Ministry of Finance to allocate a dedicated budget line for AI deployment in the 2026 fiscal year.
