Ghana: 3.5 million public files go digital

The project aims to transition a significant portion of administrative archives still managed on paper to searchable and secure digital formats. It is intended to improve document retrieval, reduce the risks of loss or damage, and accelerate the work of administrations that use these archives.

The operation is part of the Ghana Digital Acceleration Project, a digital transformation program supported by the World Bank. The Ministry of Communication, Digital Technologies and Innovation had initiated the selection process for a service provider for the digitization of PRAAD funds in June.

The announced volume, 3.5 million files, gives a new scale to the project. The PRAAD retains documents produced by ministries, departments, and public agencies, as well as archives of historical value. Their conversion should allow for better preservation of institutional memory while making the information more quickly accessible to the administration.

A project related to the modernization of public services

The Ghanaian government has been increasing projects aimed at reducing paper-based procedures for several months. This strategy concerns both identification systems, data exchanges between administrations, and the issuance of official documents, notably the future electronic wallet for public documents.

The digitization of the PRAAD also addresses an issue of administrative continuity. Better indexed and preserved archives can reduce search times, improve file traceability, and facilitate the preservation of old documents whose physical condition may deteriorate over time.

The handover phase was initiated at the beginning of June, with the opening of bids to select the company responsible for the transformation of the archives. The contract signed in August marks the transition from this preparatory procedure to the execution of the project.

The project will now have to be judged on the quality of the conversion, the indexing of the files, their security, and the ability of administrations to effectively use the digitized records. For Accra, the challenge is to transform a vast documentary heritage into a public service infrastructure usable on a daily basis.