Ghana’s National AI Strategy: What It Means for Civil Society in Ghana
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When I received the invite to attend the launch of Ghana’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, I was excited — though not entirely sure what to expect. Would it be another government event with polished speeches and glossy documents destined to gather dust? Would it feel relevant to the work we do at the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI)?
I was glad I attended. This was different.
On Friday, 24 April 2026, President John Dramani Mahama officially launched Ghana’s first National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2025–2035) in Accra. I attended alongside two colleagues — Franck Sombo, Head of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning and Technology, and Whitnay Segnonna, Technology Programme Officer — representing WACSI. We left with a great deal to think about.
First, the Room Deserves a Mention
Whoever planned this event understood that AI is not merely a technology conversation — it is a societal one. Chiefs and queen mothers sat alongside business leaders, development partners, civil society representatives, academics and innovators. There was something powerful about that mix.
The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Hon. Samuel Nartey George, introduced the audience to “Aku” — an AI assistant built to demonstrate the strategy in practice. Aku answered questions in English, Ga, Twi, Dagbani, Ewe and Gonja, and walked the audience through real-time diagnostic support for a rural clinic, the financial system, and productivity tools for farmers and fishermen. The room erupted in applause. That moment stopped being abstract. It felt real.
What the Leaders Said
President Mahama set the vision clearly:
“This is a significant milestone in our national journey towards a digitally empowered, innovation-driven and globally competitive Ghana. It is also a statement of intent that Ghana will not be just a passive consumer of technologies shaping the future, but that we are going to be an active participant in designing, governing and deploying them for our national transformation.”
Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie was the voice of careful wisdom:
“Justice cannot be automated; it can be supported and enhanced by technology, but it cannot be replaced.”
If justice cannot be automated, neither can accountability — and accountability is very much civil society’s business.
Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, who chaired the event, gave the most nuanced speech of the day. He cautioned:
“Artificial intelligence can unlock productivity, improve public service delivery, enhance scientific discovery, and expand economic opportunity. At the same time, if left unchecked or poorly governed, it can deepen inequality, weaken social trust, threaten privacy, and marginalise the most vulnerable among us.”
Minister George was the most direct in naming who needs to be at the table: “The government cannot build the country’s AI future alone. We need the ingenuity of researchers, creativity of startups, investment from the private sector, and wisdom from civil society and international partners.”
Naming civil society as a stakeholder is both an honour and a responsibility.
The Direct Call to Civil Society
Speaker Bagbin made the call explicit: civil society must remain vigilant and hold all actors accountable. Not merely observe or attend the launch — hold people accountable.
Civil society has always asked the hard questions: who benefits, who is left out, who decides, who is responsible when things go wrong. Those questions do not become less important when the subject is artificial intelligence. They become more urgent.
What the Strategy Means in Practice
The environment in which civil society operates is already changing. Whether it is how we collect data, manage knowledge, communicate advocacy, or how donors and governments make decisions, AI is already in the room. Organisations that fail to engage with this shift risk becoming irrelevant to the communities they serve.
Several concrete opportunities exist. The strategy’s eight pillars include education and workforce development, yet the focus on youth leaves a gap: who is building digital fluency within civil society itself? This is a space that WACSI and similar organisations are well placed to fill.
Ghana also plans to establish a Responsible AI Authority within the first year of implementation. How that body is constituted — its mandate, its independence, its channels for citizen participation — are questions civil society must engage with now, before the governance architecture is fixed.
The strategy targets one trillion tokens of Ghanaian datasets by 2030. Much of that data will come from communities: health records, agricultural patterns, financial behaviours, and languages. Civil society has a critical role in ensuring communities understand their data rights and that benefits flow back to those who generated them.
A Final Reflection
Sitting in that room, watching Aku respond in Dagbani to a question about crop health, something shifted. This is not a future conversation. Ghana has decided to show up on its own terms.
The Chair’s call was clear: stay vigilant, hold people accountable, be in the room when hard decisions are made. Civil society organisations in Ghana should urgently coordinate to strengthen internal AI literacy — then engage the government now to co-shape the Responsible AI Authority before the framework is set in stone.
About the author
Deborah Nana Ama Abbey
Deborah Nana Ama Abbey is a development practitioner with expertise in communication, youth empowerment, advocacy and human rights. With a diverse professional background, she has contributed her skills to various national and international organisations. Community engagement lies at the heart of Deborah’s values, as evidenced by her initiative “Every Kid Deserves Christmas,” which brings joy to hundreds of children from underprivileged backgrounds every year. Currently, she serves as a communications assistant, where she plays a pivotal role in driving positive change and development at the West Africa Civil Society Institute.
