The President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced the newly launched National Digital Property and Addressing System will be at the core of business transactions in the country.

According to the president, no Ghanaian will be issued with the new Ghana Card without a verified house and street address.

Speaking at the launch, “ghanapostGPS”,, President Akufo-Addo expressed the hope that this new address database will create an avenue for new businesses, and aid systematic revenue collection by the likes the Ghana Water Company and local government.

The President said he expected the relevant institutions to “liaise with the Ministry of Communication and Ghana Post, who are the custodians and administrators of the system, to leverage on this technology to enhance their operations.”

The system, which was designed by Ghanaian information technology firm, Vokacom, will provide every Ghanaian with an effective means of addressing every location and place in the country, using an information technology application.

The lack of an efficient addressing system forces Ghanaians to develop a culture of relying on directions from people navigating areas via basic landmarks like shops, drains or electricity poles in some cases.

The President also announced the dawn of a new era when Ghanaians will no longer use landmarks to give directions and property locations.

“The informal nature of our economy has been a major constraint to our development, affected our ability to broaden the tax base and widen financial inclusion,” he said.

He said with the instant validation and verification that comes with the new address system, businesses will not just be viable but sustainable.

The National Digital Property and Addressing System is one of the three initiatives government has outlined to complete the formalisation of the economy.

President Akufo-Addo noted that over the years, Ghanaians have become accustomed to using landmarks as the means of giving directions of the location of a property.

“The ‘blue kiosk’, the ‘waakye’ seller, the ‘Kofi brokeman’ seller, and ‘that big tree at the junction’ have become reference points for giving out locations. Today marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. We are launching a solution to our location and addressing problems, and this will, ultimately, change the way we do things,” he said.

This state of affairs becomes more precarious when lives are on the line as first responders in emergency situations find navigation difficult.

Thus, the President highlighted how critical this technology would be for emergency responders like the police and ambulance services, introducing prospects for levels of timeliness and efficiency which is lacking in Ghana.

“Law enforcement agencies can easily assess addresses more effectively in order to deal with crime. Health, fire and ambulance services can effectively locate property locations in order to save lives at a faster rate,” President Akufo-Addo said.

Source, Otecfmghana.com