Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff, has urged the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and its partners to leverage research and innovation to drive digital transformation and improve governance across West Africa.

He said the newly inaugurated Centre for West African Studies for Digital Public Governance should become a platform for producing knowledge that informs policy, strengthens institutions and positions the sub-region to benefit from emerging digital technologies.

Speaking at the launch of the Centre during a thanksgiving service to mark GIMPA’s 65th anniversary in Accra on Monday, Mr Debrah said West Africa could not afford to be a passive observer in the global digital revolution.

“We are living through a period of rapid digital transformation. Artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, digital financial systems and e-governance are reshaping how economies grow, how governments deliver services and how citizens participate in public life,” he said.

“West Africa must not be a passive bystander of that transformation,” he added.

Mr Debrah said the government viewed the Centre, established through a partnership between GIMPA and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), as a strategic institution that would support Ghana’s digital agenda and position West Africa as a producer of knowledge and innovation rather than merely a consumer of global ideas.

He urged the Centre to ensure that its research found its way into public policy, parliamentary deliberations and development planning across the sub-region.

“Let the work of this Centre find its way into policy, into Parliament and into the planning offices of West African governments. That is the measure of a think tank that truly serves,” he said.

The Chief of Staff noted that the partnership brought together UESTC’s expertise in electronic science and technology and GIMPA’s strength in public administration and governance, creating a unique platform to support Africa’s digital future.

He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to knowledge-driven development, saying that the allocation of GHS33.3 billion to education in the 2026 Budget demonstrated the Government’s commitment towards quality education.

At the event, GIMPA and UESTC signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Digital Public Governance Hub at GIMPA, expected to become the largest of its kind in West Africa.

Professor Samuel Kwaku Bonsu, Rector of GIMPA, said the hub would serve as a central platform for collecting and analysing governance data across Africa to support evidence-based decision-making.

“Many of our governments do not have the requisite data to make effective decisions. We want to mobilise data effectively for use by governments and other institutions to improve development outcomes,” he said.

He said implementation of the project would begin within the next few months, with the aim of making the hub fully operational within a year.

Established on June 1, 1961, the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration is a public tertiary institution mandated to build leadership, governance and public sector management capacity.

Over the years, it has expanded into business, law, technology and social sciences education while maintaining its core role in public administration training.