The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, has emphasized the need for public institutions to exercise caution when relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to make decisions affecting public resources and citizens' welfare. He stressed that AI should be used as a tool to support, rather than replace, human judgment. Dr Asiama's remarks were made through an official representative, Peter Kwamena Baterls, at a regional workshop on AI monitoring and evaluation in Accra.
The five-day workshop, organized by the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), aims to promote the integration of AI and automated tools into project tracking, monitoring, and evaluation frameworks. The event, which runs from October 5 to 9, 2026, brings together participants from central banks, economic ministries, and public and private institutions across the region. The goal is to build practical skills in using AI-driven metrics to improve project performance and strengthen results-based management.
Dr Asiama highlighted the importance of human oversight in ensuring that AI-driven systems are underpinned by quality data, transparency, privacy, security, and accountability. He noted that decisions affecting public resources and citizens' welfare must remain subject to human oversight and institutional accountability. According to Dr Asiama, AI is a tool that can improve project monitoring by analyzing data, identifying risks, and flagging emerging challenges, but it should not be a substitute for human judgment.
The BoG Governor emphasized the need for public institutions to shift their focus from the amount spent on projects to the results, outcomes, and impact generated from such investments. He stressed that effective monitoring and evaluation are critical to identifying implementation challenges, including delays, cost overruns, and procurement difficulties, early enough for corrective action to be taken. Dr Asiama likened running a project without effective monitoring and evaluation to driving at night without headlights.
Dr Asiama noted that AI-enabled tools can analyze large volumes of project data, identify patterns and anomalies, track performance against indicators, and flag emerging risks for managers and policymakers. He stated that such tools can transform project monitoring from a largely periodic and reactive exercise into a more continuous, data-informed, and forward-looking process. However, Dr Asiama stressed that the effectiveness of AI-driven monitoring depends on the quality of the data, the soundness of the models, and the capacity of people to interpret and apply the outputs responsibly.
The Governor highlighted the potential benefits of AI-driven monitoring and evaluation, including strengthening evidence-based policymaking, improving service delivery, enhancing transparency and accountability, promoting institutional learning, and boosting confidence among development partners and other stakeholders. He emphasized that institutions need to make monitoring systems more timely, reliable, and useful for decision-making.
The workshop seeks to equip participants with practical skills in using AI-driven metrics to improve project performance and strengthen results-based management. By promoting the integration of AI and automated tools into project tracking, monitoring, and evaluation frameworks, WAIFEM aims to support the development of more effective and efficient project management practices across the region.
Key points
- Public institutions must ensure that AI-driven systems are underpinned by quality data, transparency, privacy, security, and accountability.
- AI should be used as a tool to support, rather than replace, human judgment in public spending decisions.
- Effective monitoring and evaluation are critical to identifying implementation challenges and ensuring that projects generate meaningful results and value for money.
