A former Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Mahama Ayariga, has said that the newly launched digital addressing system is not the first of its kind in Ghana.

Ayariga who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central told Accra-based Starr FM that the erstwhile Mahama administration attempted to develop a similar system.

He said this was done by Subah Info Solutions a subsidiary of Jospong Group of Companies.

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“Sometimes I wonder…digital addressing when I was Minister for Environment overseeing Town and Country Planning I had seen Subah Info Solution develop a digital addressing system for Ghana. I had gone to their office to inspect the work. They had taken me through the work. I had seen it. In fact, I took the Town and Country Planning Director [then] to the office of Subah and told them that they should work with Subah…one of Zoom Lion’s subsidiaries. I directed them to work with Subah to develop the digital addressing system.”

He added: “Subah has the system already and I had instructed the Director Town and Country Planning to go and work with Subah to complete the process. All they needed was the collaboration of the Town and Country Planning offices across the country. They have covered I think by that time about 50 percent of the country. Digital addressing system everything Subah Info Solution has it.”

“When I heard this morning that the president was going to launch a digital addressing system, I was wondering is it the one that Subah had already done?”

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At the launch of the system on Wednesday, President Nana Akufo-Addo said the last time Ghana attempted developing a comprehensive address and postcode system was in 1974.

“Today marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. We are launching a solution to our locations and addressing problems. This will ultimately, change the way we do business. The project born from a partnership of the Ministry of Communications and Ghana Post will give the country a trustworthy database of addressing,” he stated.

However, Ayariga said the President’s claim is false.

The location-based system, which will provide an effective means of addressing every location to facilitate the implementation of key government policies, according to Akufo-Addo is the dawn of a new era.

Vokacom, a Ghanaian Information Technology firm, designed the system at the cost of 2.5 million dollars. The digital address system will be a precursor to the National Identification Authority’s Ghana card.