Ghana is to pay tech giant, Google, an amount of $400,000 every year for embedding the company’s online map into the country’s newly designed National Digital Property Addressing System, Ghana Post GPS.
This was revealed by the Managing Director of Ghana Post, James Kwofie on Friday, at a press conference organized by the Ministry of Communications following criticisms of the digital address system.
Mr. Kwofie made the revelation when he was giving the breakdown of the amount spent on the system which was earlier announced to be $2.5 million.
“In terms of the cost, what is being paid for is the back-end solution, data analytics, hardware i.e. the firewalls and servers, Google license, marketing and publicity as well as technical support, and GHc1.7 million VAT which goes back to the government. Contrary to popular believe, Google charges when you use their systems for local purposes or commercial activities. The Google license fee at the moment is $400,000 per year – that is the enterprise package,” he added.
GHc3.5 million blown on publicity
He added that, an amount of GHc3.5 million was also spent on publicizing the system.
“Publicity like I said, is GHc3.5 million, and there are very expensive firewalls, we can’t say how many, but that also cost a lot of money,” he added
Background
President Akufo-Addo about two weeks ago launched the National Digital Property Addressing System, also known as the Ghana Post GPS in Accra, aimed at providing an effective means of addressing every location and place in the country, using an information technology application.
The app, which government said cost the country $2.5 million has been criticized by some experts in the technology space as well as some civil society organizations.
For instance, president of policy think tank, IMANI Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe, described the system as amateurish and not new.
He also questioned the security implications of the data received by the system.
“I’ve read quite a number of reviews by industry watchers, and some of the comments they’ve made are not necessarily helpful – to think that you could input just any data and generate an address in itself sounds amateurish. There are basic web portals where you input any kind of data it could reject it, especially when you are filling forms. And to hear that obviously, that it is something with this app is quite troubling,” Franklin Cudjoe added.
No data breach
But speaking at the press conference, Nana Osei Afrifa, Chief Executive Officer for Vokakom, the company that designed the app, assured that the data accepted by the system is safe.
He added that, ample measures have also been put in place to forestall any data breach.
Source: citifmonline.com
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Am Ghanaian citizen living in the state, I think this Ghana post app will not help us to achieve our aim. WHY I THINK IT WILL NOT WORK ARE: 1) This is an app and everyone can generate his address which will open ways for fraudsters to have many addresses 2)Because of the spacing they use which is about 5m-7m which is about 16-20feet that means one house can have more than 3address because most of our building plot are 70 by 100foot 2) not everyone one in Ghana own a smartphone to download the app and generate his or her digital address.Even in some remote area they not even have network service left a lone internet. 3)we dont have street in most of our communities and the little we have too are not named. my resent check on google map of Ghana what i found was that even our highways dont even have a name. just to say few.
Another avenue to steal from the public purse.
Just a follow up after reading some on the thread. There is no good time to get a better addressing system than now. An addressing system is a critical investment we cannot do without if we want to move forward as a nation. We cannot argue about the need for such a system. Government can do so much and be able to attend to the needs of a lot of people with such a system in place. Entrepreneurs will seize on this opportunity to easily create businesses and opportunities in the marketplace and it will certainly lead to a net positive increase in economic growth. However, the means to get there must be well debated and clearly defined. These include how we are going to maintain this system in say 10-20 years. We cannot depend on Google in that time frame. Indigenous businesses will have to devise means and better solutions to this challenge. Just my thought.
Why can't we build our own application from scratch? Or look for local solutions. Ghana Post can start with the ZIP Code program. Whilst we build our own homegrown addressing solutions. Yes, I like googles solution but let's not forget that Google's market is in the US an not Ghana. They cannot solve our indigenous challenges. More so this initial capital would start ballooning after we had added yearly maintenance cost amongst others. With indigenous solutions, the SOURCE CODE will be owned by the government and we can tweak and maintain it at our discretion with minimal maintenance cost. It might take some time but it will be better than investing in this OUTSOURCED investment. Just my thought.
WHAT WASTE OF RESOURCES ON FANCY GAGDETS WHEN WE DO NOT HAVE PROPER WATER TO DRINK :OUR HOSPITALS ARE WITHOUT THE PROPER MEDICINE : WHEN UNHYGENIC WASTE IS ALL AROUND US CAUSING CHOLRA AND NANA ADDO GOES TO SPLASH OUR LITTLE RESOURCES ON THE APPS ; TO BE ME THIS COMPLETE 'NOKOFIO' GOING INTO SOMEPNE@S POCKET !!!!!; CORRUPTION :HERE : CORRUPTION THERE AND NANA ADDO CLAIMS TO BE AN HONEST MAN WHILST HIS OWN FAMILY AND FRINEDS ARE HEAPING DIRTY WASTE ON HIS HEAD : WAKE UP MR 'BISA GOMA' NANA ADDO !!!!! : MINE FUT !!!!!!!!
Ghanaians like to criticise too much without first fishing out the true details.If this ideal is to succeed with the cost of $50 million the benefits will outweigh the cost.Why has it taken us long to do this simple thing which so many people are saying it existed already.What is 2.5 million as compared to lot of of money being squandered by government and organisations? Let us help Ghana to succeed!
Really? We don’t have clean water to drink, hospitals have no beds with patients sleeping on floors, and basic hospital amenities are not available, and your priority is numbering our houses?. Africa for you
WE NEED TO PROPERLY NUMBER HOUSES NAME STREETS BEFORE GETING INTO THIS SYSTEM .LET RENEGOTIATE THE PRICE. NANA WE BEG
Is this for real? Is this country being managed by responsible people. Spending GHS 3.5m on publicity for what is already there? Having a system that will surpass UK and USA system is by buying from Google? God Bless Our Homeland Ghana.
Ghana government should a take action because the country is demand on many things. e.g damongo s.h.s need water .Student the sorfer the. if u see Ghana need much of help because student can complete we Thaout work