‘Who builds schools to teach people how to use WhatsApp?’ – Bright Simons
Vice-President and head of Research at the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Bright Simons, has urged policymakers to remove barriers that keep ordinary Ghanaians from benefiting from digital technology.
Speaking at Joy News’ Digital Economy Forum on AI and the Ghana Economy on Wednesday, he challenged the assumption that people always need organised training to use digital platforms productively.
“Who builds schools to teach people how to use WhatsApp? Who builds schools to teach influencers how to do YouTube influencing?” he asked.
Mr Simons pointed to ride-hailing, e-commerce and delivery services as examples of how ordinary people have acquired useful digital skills through practical use.
“Nobody taught them how to use mapping services. There were very few attempts to do that. Somehow we figured out how to use mapping services, how to do geolocation and deliver food and the rest of it.”
His argument centred on policy's role in creating opportunities. Removing obstacles, he said, can be a practical way to help people earn a living from technology.
“So we have to think about policy as also including the things that remove barriers and bottlenecks for ordinary people,” he said.
He warned that government intervention could itself become an obstacle to adopting digital services.
“I'm a big believer in the fact that when it comes to those kinds of things, typically the government is an impediment rather than an enabler.”
Mr Simons recalled resisting proposals to license Uber, Bolt and other ride-hailing services. He said the proposals included onerous local government obligations.
He also cited the public uproar over developer licensing as a reason to scrutinise new regulatory requirements before introducing them.
For him, discussions about such rules directly affect ordinary people. They determine whether digital opportunities become easier or harder to access.
He rejected the idea that identifying policy barriers is a theoretical exercise.
“Often they are impediments and bottlenecks in their way, and people like us who point them out should not be seen as discussing theory. It's very practical.”
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