• Coronavirus
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sports
  • World
  • More
    • Health
    • Education
    • Crime
    • Legal
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Lifestyle
    • Science & Technology
  • Entertainment & Arts
  • Our Radio Schedule
Saturday, December 2, 2023
  • Login
Plan B 104.5 FM
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sports
  • World
  • More
    • Health
    • Education
    • Crime
    • Legal
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Lifestyle
    • Science & Technology
  • Entertainment & Arts
  • Our Radio Schedule
No Result
View All Result
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sports
  • World
  • More
    • Health
    • Education
    • Crime
    • Legal
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Lifestyle
    • Science & Technology
  • Entertainment & Arts
  • Our Radio Schedule
No Result
View All Result
Plan B 104.5 FM
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Veep Calls For Investment In ICT And Digital Data Collection Tools

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has urged African governments to invest in ICT infrastructure and digital data collection tools.

He therefore, called on heads of national statistical offices to “work with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in transforming our continental statistical systems.”

Dr Bawumia said these during the ECA’s virtual launch of a first-of-its-kind continental tool that offers a unique view of price variations in African countries, regional economic communities, and at the continental level.

He applauded ECA for the initiative, stating “this one-stop-shop for finding data” will go a long way to “increase ECA’s relevance in Africa.”

“We need data on price movements to gauge how changes in consumer prices alone may be affecting the trends in income distribution, poverty levels, and inequalities, including especially among those who live on retirement incomes,” Dr. Bawumia said.

He pointed out that “as we open the doors to continental free trade, price level data will enable cross-country comparisons and understanding of regional markets and the competitiveness of producers across Africa.”

Dr Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of ECA, noted that the role of national statistics offices and national revenue authorities in ensuring that this platform has timely, accurate & up-to-date data will be crucial.

She cautioned that the “lack of price data to enable us to monitor, analyse and manage economies through informed policy decisions has often led to civil unrest” because when prices of things like food, oil, and energy go up, “people take to the streets.”

The initiative intends, therefore, to bring the prices and exchange rates of all African countries into one platform that’s readily accessible to citizens, decision-makers, and other stakeholders. The platform will involve monthly, quarterly and annual analyses of inflation.

 Cameroon’s Minister of Economy, Planning, and Regional Development Alamine Ousmane Mey said “We need to strengthen the relationships between national information and statistics institutions and the ECA” because “without data and information, we cannot evaluate and monitor public policy.”

“We are talking about compiling data, which means integrating Africa. I see a bright future for this initiative,” he said.

In his remarks, South Africa’s Minister of Finance, Tito Titus Mboweni, highlighted the fact that “Data helps political leaders understand the difference between what they might wish to have and what the reality on the gourds is.”

He added that “as we move towards actualising the African Continental Free Trade Area, we need timely and reliable data on prices and movements of goods and services to enable us to know if we’re having macroeconomic convergence or divergence.”

The virtual launch was also attended by several other ministers of finance and economic development and representatives of national statistics offices from across Africa who acknowledged their role as key stakeholders in the initiative and pledged to contribute the required data.

This comes at a time when governments are keen to understand the impact of COVID-19 on citizens’ capacity to purchase necessities as countries face lockdown measures.

Previous Post

Ghanaians To Use Ghana Card Numbers As Tin For Business Transactions Next Year

Next Post

Arsenal Confirm Signing Of Willian

Related Posts

Police withdraw injunction against Jubilee House protesters
Featured

The Right to Assembly and Public Protest in Ghana: ‘OccupyJulorbiHouse’ protest in perspective

September 27, 2023
Otabil Should’ve Refunded ‘Missing’ Capital Bank Cash Before Resigning Cathedral Board – Dr. Kobina Arthur Kennedy
Featured

Arthur Kobina Kennedy writes: The people’s movement on the street

September 25, 2023
Apple unveils iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
Science & Technology

Apple unveils iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

September 12, 2023
Next Post

Arsenal Confirm Signing Of Willian

Discussion about this post

ON Air

Listen LiVE

UP Next

Plan B 104.5 FM

© 2021 Plan B 104.5 FM - All Rights Reserve. Powered. Unity Websoft.

Navigate Site

  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sports
  • World
  • More
    • Health
    • Education
    • Crime
    • Legal
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Lifestyle
    • Science & Technology
  • Entertainment & Arts
  • Our Radio Schedule

© 2021 Plan B 104.5 FM - All Rights Reserve. Powered. Unity Websoft.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In