The National Cybersecurity Advisor, Dr. Albert Antwi-Boaisako
The Managing Director of Accra Digital Centre, Mr Eric Ofosu Nkansah
The Ag. Director-General of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Mr. Richard Okyere-Fosu
The Administrator of Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), Mr. Abraham Kofi Asante
The Managing Director of the Ghana Post Company Limited, Mr James Kwofie
The Director-General of the Ghana Meteorological Agency, Dr. Michael Tanu
Members of the National Cyber Security Technical Working Group
Representatives from the Ghana Health Service
Representatives from the Ministry of Education
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen, 
I warmly welcome you all to today’s roundtable forum, which is aimed at engaging various stakeholders and experts to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on Ghana’s Digitalization Agenda. 
I also extend greetings from the Honorable Minister for Communications who together with HE the VP, continue to demonstrate great leadership and commitment to securing  and deliver Ghana’s digital journey. 
I must commend your participation in the previous week’s activities which focused exclusively on Child Online Protection and all its intricacies. 

The Government of Ghana, in embracing change and creating a cyber-centric economy, has pursued an agenda to transform the nation through digitalization. 
In this regard, Government has implemented various digital initiatives including:– e-Parliament- Paperless Port System, – e-Justice, – e-procurement, – e-Passport, and – Mobile Money Interoperability, among others. 
These initiatives have not only made services more accessible to the public but have also made Ghana a hub of excellence in cybersecurity. 
Distinguished guests, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a paradigm shift in various aspects of the socio-economic lives of nation, and has challenged the resilience of our cyber systems and that of the Global community. 
The ever-dynamic trend of cybercrime, according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) increases daily as the global digital citizenship surges. 
The presence of cybercriminals online put critical infrastructures at risk since their Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability (CIA) risk being compromised and consequently deprive people of critical services. 
An INTERPOL assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on cybercrime has revealed that major corporations, government, and critical infrastructure have become major targets for cybercriminals since the outbreak of the pandemic.  
Ladies and gentlemen, globally, this pandemic has had an immense impact on all sectors including education, health, commerce, and tourism. 
As of 6th May 2020, UNESCO estimated that 177 countries have closed schools nationwide, impacting over 1.2 billion learners globally. 
UNICEF also indicates that 186 countries are currently implementing nationwide closures and 8 of these countries, are implementing local closures which have impacted about 98.5% of the world’s student population. 
The Government of Ghana, in the best interest of our students, postponed the academic year of those below Senior High School, to 2021 as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecasted that the COVID-19 pandemic is set to result in the worst recession since the Great Depression, which occurred in the 1920s and majorly in the 1930s. Evidently, numerous economies have been hard hit by the outbreak of the pandemic and Ghana, is no exception. 
Despite these discouraging statistics, digitalization has proven to be the best option for business continuity, normalization, access to educational facilities and materials, and critical operations among other endeavors. 
It is therefore no surprise, that there has been a heightened dependency on technology tools to ensure the continuous access to goods and services amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing protocols. 
Some countries, through the use of Artificial Intelligence have utilized technology and digital platforms, to proffer solutions, identify COVID-19 treatments and aid in contact tracing. 
As part of Government’s efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ghana COVID-19 Tracker App was rolled out to aid in the tracking of possible COVID-19 positive cases.  
The Government of Ghana also offered crucial reliefs and tax waivers to financial institutions, government health workers, electricity, and water consumption, among others. 
Ladies and gentlemen, since Ghana recorded its first COVID-19 case in March, the nation has undergone diverse waves of transformation, to align with the protocols needed to defeat the virus. 
The communications sector among others, have been working tirelessly to shoulder the huge responsibility of ensuring seamless interactions within the digital ecosystem. The migration of services unto digital platforms by schools, businesses and government has inadvertently made the digital ecosystem the heartbeat of the economy. 
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this year stated that, Ghana’s 2020 estimated GDP growth rate could decline from 6.8% to 2.6% as part of lower productivity associated with various lockdown measures. 
We must therefore double our efforts because, the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) of our country, which encompasses education, finance, health, telecommunication and government thrives successfully on digital systems, and consequently contribute significantly to our socio-economic development.  
A disruption in the services of these infrastructures would have a devastating impact on our national security and other sectors of the economy.
At the height of the COVID-19 crisis, we witnessed a surge in the use of various digital platforms around the globe and Ghana. 
Globally, a 59% penetration rate was recorded for internet users as at July 2020 ( source: “we are social” ) and a 48% penetration rate for internet users was recorded for Ghana as at January 2020. 
In order to make room for these surges, the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Communications, granted extra spectrum to some mobile network operators to ease the pressure by the public on data  bandwidth.  
As more people take to digital platforms to conduct businesses and enjoy services, the Government is not oblivious of the risks associated with the increased interaction on our digital space. The Government has therefore put in place stringent measures to address some of these issues, especially ones that pertain to the increase in internet accessibility. 
Since March, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has recorded a significant increase in the number of Cybercrime/Cybersecurity incidents reported by the Public  and institutions via its Cybercrime/Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Points of Contact (PoC). Prominent among the incidents reported are phishing, malware, and Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, among others. 
Many high-ranking Government officials have also been the target for impersonation and identity theft cases. This means that Government in collaboration with key stakeholders, need to strengthen existing protocols to ensure intensified resilience of various ICT systems used by the public and institutions of the various sectors of the economy.
In addressing some of these cybercrime/cybersecurity issues which have become more prominent in recent times, the Ministry of Communications, through the National Cyber Security Centre, has presented a Cybersecurity Bill to Cabinet for consideration and enactment by Parliament. When passed into law, the Cybersecurity Bill will cater extensively for the prosecution of cybercrime and will also ensure robust regulation of the cybersecurity ecosystem of the nation. 
The Ministry of Communications, through the NCSC, has further revised the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy with content that reflects current trends in the area of cybercrime/cybersecurity.  Cybersecurity in this era has, therefore, become the pillar to safeguard our socio-economic development and sustain our national defense from potential cyber-attacks. Strategic and priority initiatives and investments implemented, including the development of National and Sectorial Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and Security Operation Centers (SOCs), has improved our effectiveness and efficiency in responding to cyber-related attacks on the critical infrastructures.  
Additionally, due to the wider population from all sectors resorting to digital platforms for socio-economic activities, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will need to leverage on this development to intensify the sensitization and awareness creation on cybercrime/cybersecurity which is underpinned by the National Cyber Security Awareness Program dubbed, A Safer Digital Ghana launched by the Vice President, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on October 1 during the 2018 edition of the National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). This will be a major catalyst in strengthening the security of citizens on the cyberspace.
Ladies and Gentlemen, despite all these efforts, we acknowledge that we have a long way to go in ensuring a secured digital ecosystem. I, therefore, implore us all to actively engage in this month-long event in order to equip ourselves with various necessary cybersecurity best practices needed to stay safe in the digital ecosystem. 
I also entreat all participants to engage fully in this forum to ensure that we achieve the laid down objectives. As we continue to use the phrase, “Stay safe” in reference to COVID-19, I admonish us to also, “stay safer online,” as the digital space has become a fertile ground for the perpetration of various crimes.