Abeiku Santana claims that the NPP is launching apps with no “real benefits” to deceive Ghanaians about the advancement of digitalization.

The digitization ambition of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has raised serious issues, according to veteran broadcaster Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey Santana, also known as Abeiku Santana. Speaking at a National Democratic Congress (NDC) event, Santana charged that the NPP was employing a string of app launches as a political ploy to influence votes for their presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

Despite the NPP’s assertions that digitalization is progressing, he pointed out that many of these apps don’t offer real advantages to regular Ghanaians. Nigeria lacks a music streaming app, despite being Africa’s largest music destination. Have you ever heard of an app developed in Ghana that allows Nigerians to stream music? “It is a façade,” he said. He cited several instances to illustrate his thesis that the Ghana Post app, which the NPP has actively pushed, is hardly ever utilized in real life. “Ask any Yango or Uber driver if they use that app,” said Santana. They did the same thing with the COVID app. They will say that an app is digital, but in reality, it is a ploy to trick consumers. It does nothing; it is ineffective.

In contrast, Santana commended the NDC’s plan for the tourism and creative arts industries, pointing out that it had a more thorough and workable plan under John Dramani Mahama. He said, “We have an end-to-end policy, full of programs and ideas that will transform the tourism and creative arts sectors.”