The E-Cedi, a digital counterpart of the local currency, was conceived by the Bank of Ghana (BOG) in 2021.

Despite the successful completion of a pilot test, the launch of the E-Cedi has been postponed due to what the BOG has termed economic dislocation.

Speaking at the 14th Commonwealth Regional Conference for Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa, held in Accra on Thursday, Dr Bawumia also stressed the importance of harnessing digital technologies to combat corruption.

“We are also using digital technology to track money and suspicious activity and we are working very closely with the central bank and they are piloting to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC) which we call the E-Cedi.

“And with the successful piloting of the E-Cedi, which is essentially a digital version of our currency with appropriate privacy protections. With that successful pilot, it will be the ultimate weapon in our fight against corruption.”

“The CBDC will be the ultimate weapon because the E-Cedi will make it easy to track the movement of money and identify suspicious activity. It will provide us with high-level transparency, reduce the risk of fraud, and reduce the level of tax avoidance and money laundering,” he stated

Dr Bawumia also outlined the government’s strides in safeguarding public funds through the launch of the National Identification System.