Sam George announces national data exchange hub for AI planning

The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Sam George, has announced plans to develop a national data exchange hub. This initiative aims to connect 48 different data registries across various public institutions to improve national planning.

The project is part of a broader strategy to integrate artificial intelligence into public administration. By allowing government institutions to share and analyze information across sectors, the hub is intended to ensure that development projects and resource allocations are driven by empirical evidence rather than political rhetoric or community demands.

Mr. George noted that data-driven insights could help policymakers prioritize critical needs. For instance, while a community might request infrastructure like roads, health data might reveal a more urgent need for medical facilities due to high maternal mortality rates. The goal is to enable officials, such as the finance minister, to create budgets based on ‘hardcore data’ to maximize social impact.