In October 2017, the President of Ghana
launched the National Digital Property Addressing System (NDPAS) also known as
the Ghana
Post GPS with the aim of providing
every location in Ghana with a unique digital address. It is hoped that the
Ghana Post GPS will achieve a nationwide use for spatial database information
for good governance and socio-economic development.
Penplusbytes gathered a vibrant group of state
actors, technologists and civil society actors for its Accra Tech Salon to find
ways to improve the Ghana Post GPS using appropriate technology and making it
easily accessible to all citizens in Ghana and improve government services.
The discussion featured diverse group of
participants with lead discussants including:
- Augustine
Blay of the Office of the Vice President
- Jonathan
Ansah of Ghana Post
- Kofi
Otchere of NITA
The Ghana Post GPS
The Digital Property Address System is an ICT
based navigation system designed by a Ghanaian information technology firm, to
tackle the challenges of property addressing in Ghana. It is designed to
promote the digital mapping of properties and parcels of land across the
country for easy navigation and relevant spatial data for effective service delivery.
The participants and lead discussants focused
on the following key questions:
How can digital addresses be useful to both
urban and rural Ghanaians?
A key issue raised was that the addressing
system would help resolve challenges that emergency response institutions face.
Rescue teams in Ghana have always been impeded by navigation difficulties in
times of accidents at homes, roads or other forms emergencies. This new
technology will enable the police service to easily access addresses and deal
effectively with crimes. Health providers, fire and ambulance services can
easily identify incident locations in order to save lives at a faster rate. All
these will be to the benefit of the ordinary Ghanaian and improve government
operations.
One of the lead discussants posited that, the
addressing system will also create a database of businesses for a more improved
and systematic means of tax collection as each business will be registered.
Registered business on the system will also mean addresses can be located,
which will reduce risk for businesses to access loans, reduce cost of doing
business and invariably create job opportunities for Ghanaians. It will also
provide the added value of enabling citizens to easily locate service providers
by searching on the app.
Should Ghana use existing mapping apps or
customize existing ones?
This question generated a lot of debate
between the technologists and the participants. The participants claimed the
Ghana Post GPS is nothing new and government could have just built on Google maps,
which would have saved the country a lot of money. They also argued that Ghana
could have generated the digital addresses for free on Google by just building
on existing apps available, and there was no reason to have given a private
company the same job to do. However, one of the lead discussants was of the
opinion that Ghana needed its own digital addressing system, which goes beyond
a simple navigational map. The Ghana Post GPS is a licensed version of a global
addressing platform that gives a digital address to each country in the world.
The takeaway on this question was how to
customize the app to allow people without internet access to use simple SMS and
the need for the app to be improved to be able to function offline to allow
people without access to internet be able to use it.
What is government’s communication and data
strategy for the project?
A point was raised by a participant that orientation
on the use of the Ghana Post GPS app has not reached every Ghanaian and the
need for government to develop a communication strategy, which will use all
media platforms especially social media including WhatsApp to reach all
Ghanaians. This it is believed will make the app truly Ghanaian and achieve
some of its objectives of reducing the risk profile of citizens and enabling
them to access services.
After the session, a participant recommended that
SMS and community radio networks should be used to reach people in the rural
areas to inform and educate them about the app.
Another participant also recommended a
customized game version of the app be invented to enable youth to play with it
and become familiar with its uses, which will lead to creating of innovative
ideas for future updates on the app.
The general recommendation was for
government to engage other technologists (developers and programmers) to look
at all the loopholes identified and strategize the national digital and
properties addressing system to really be effective in the country, the
Government together with stakeholders should really reflect over the loopholes
and find lasting solutions there from.
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