The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has issued a strong warning to Ghana’s Civil Service to swiftly adopt artificial intelligence (AI) or risk becoming irrelevant in the fast-evolving digital era.
Speaking at a public lecture as part of the 2025 Civil Service Week Celebration in Accra, the Ningo-Prampram MP urged the Office of the Head of Civil Service (OHCS) to consider the urgency of institutional reform, digital upskilling, and AI integration to future-proof public institutions and safeguard Ghana’s data sovereignty against looming threats of digital exploitation.
Underscoring the urgent need for reform, the Minister warned that failure to adapt to emerging technologies like AI, automation, and e-governance could render public institutions obsolete.
“Computers did not erode jobs in the civil service; they enhanced them. Those who refused to migrate from typewriters to computers were left behind. The same will happen with AI. If we do not reskill and upskill, we will become redundant,” he stressed.
He emphasised that transformation without vision would yield limited results, and cautioned that Ghana must avoid repeating the failures of previous technological transitions.
The Minister highlighted Africa’s demographic advantage, noting that 68% of the continent’s 1.5 billion people are under 35, a tech-savvy population that generates massive volumes of data; hence, failure to manage and protect this data locally could expose the continent to digital exploitation.
As part of efforts to mainstream AI across the public sector, Sam George announced that all Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State, and designated focal persons will participate in a two-day AI Boot Camp in the Eastern Region from July 25–26, 2025.
According to him, the initiative, developed in collaboration with UNDP, is designed to introduce government leaders to AI principles and generate tailored AI use cases for each Ministry.
“The Ministry cannot be the only ICT institution driving AI adoption. It must be a whole-of-government approach. Every Minister will leave that camp with actionable cases to improve service delivery,” he said.
To ensure sustainability, each Ministry was required to designate a technical focal person to support implementation and preserve institutional memory, adding that Ministers may change, but institutions must remain strong to ensure that “we build a Civil Service that is future-proof.”
The Minister disclosed that a digital maturity mapping of all Ministries has already been completed and is expected to implement reforms based on their readiness levels, with bi-monthly progress reviews to be conducted by the Office of the President.
In support of Ghana’s digital transition, Sam George also noted that 200 AI training kits from the One Million Coders Project will be made available to the Civil Service Training Centre to facilitate widespread upskilling of public servants.
He also proposed a reform of the civil service IT cadre, stressing the need for every ministry to have at least five dedicated digital officers, including:
1. A network/system engineer
2. A software developer
3. A certified data protection officer
4. An AI officer
5. A cybersecurity officer
“The era of relying on a single IT technician is over. We need full-spectrum digital teams embedded in every Ministry,” he added.
“This lecture must not be ceremonial. It must mark a turning point toward building smarter, more agile, and citizen-focused institutions—ones that deliver services with efficiency, security, and fairness.”
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