Government Must Adopt Mapcode System To Power Ghana's Prosperity

If President Mahama's government is really serious about transforming Ghana into a prosperous society, it must ask Ghana's ambassador to the Netherlands, H.E. Dr. Tony Aidoo, to contact the Stichting Mapcode Foundation of the Netherlands - and ask it to make a video link Mapcode  presentation to Ghanaian officialdom as soon as that is practicable.

At absolutely no cost to Ghanaian taxpayers, the Stichting Mapcode Foundation could work with all the government  ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to create a system, which would enable Ghana to use mapcode  as a "standard and structured addressing system" (to qoute a stated global objective in the website of the Stichting  Mapcode Foundation) that makes addressable,  the location of  all "citizens, dwellings and businesses" throughout Ghana: assigning each a unique and easily remembered code.

 It is a perfect system for nations whose cities, towns and villages do not have street names or  formal addressing systems. The adoption of the mapcode system by the government, will, for example, immediately remove one of the key excuses that banks and other financial institutions in Ghana often make, for not financing small and medium scale enterprises: the near-impossibility of verifying and locating the addresses of those applying for loans from them.

The ability to provide a standard and modern addressing system that is structured will be a positive development for our country - and a nation-building game-changer:  that  will make a huge difference in improving productivity levels for many businesses and organisations  in Ghana through better targeting of services and markets.

It will also be a boon for the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) - as it seeks to widen the tax net and extend its reach across the country. Ditto improve district-level  planning and revenue generation.

Yet another benefit, is that the police and  other first-responder organisations, such as  the fire and ambulance services, will be able to quickly locate victims anywhere in the country, should natural disasters occur in any area in Ghana. Perfect for tracing and containing Ebola, wherever the virus attacks someone  in Ghana, incidentally.

And by working with the Stichting Mapcode Foundation, the ends that the state sought,  in budgeting for a national street-naming and house-numbering system,  will be met in timely fashion, at absolutely no cost to taxpayers - and Ghana will acquire an infinitely superior 21st century digital addressing system (that will complement the national street-naming and house-numbering system when that is completed), which will make addressable the  location of every citizen, dwelling and business in the land: finally achieving a developmental goal that every regime since independence has sought.

One hopes that President Mahama will not allow the greedy crooks-in-high-places, who always want 10 percent kickbacks from every government undertaking involving money,  to stop Ghana from deciding to use the mapcode system, simply because offered at no cost to its users,  will not benefit them financially, and send their net worth to stratospheric heights. It is vital that Ghana  adopts the mapcode system - as it will help power Ghana's prosperity in so many ways. A word to the wise...