Communications and Digitisation Minister-designate, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has averred that the COVID-19 tracker outdoored by the government in April 2020 was developed for the country for free.
She stated categorically that the app did not cost the government a pesewa.
In explaining her point, she stated that individuals from the public supported government in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic while the experts came on board willingly to add their technical know-how to develop the tracker app for the country.
Touching on the use of technology to fight the coronavirus during her vetting in Parliament Monday, February 15, 2021, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said, “Many countries, at the onset of the pandemic, tried to use technology to assist them in contact-tracing, and for people to self-report to give an overview of what is happening in the various countries to enable the health authorities handle the situation.”
“Certain public-spirited individuals extended all kinds of support to the government, and some companies also offered to put their expertise at the disposal of the government, which we gladly accepted, resulting in the creation of the Tracker app. The app didn’t cost the government a pesewa. We did not pay anything for the app,” she highlighted.
It would be recalled that in April 2020, Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications launched the COVID-19 tracker app.
The app was to help in tracing people who have come into contact with people who have tested positive for the coronavirus pandemic.
While launching the App, Dr. Bawumia said, “It will help us easily track people with the virus, [and] those who have had contact with others. It is also useful in quarantine reliability, in case certain individuals need self-quarantine.”
