Who Is Ghana’s Digital Minister Sam George

GHANA · PROFILE

Sam George, Ghana’s minister for communication and digital technology, has put a hard number on his flagship training scheme. In remarks reported on Tuesday, 13 October, he said the One Million Coders Programme would create 100,000 digital jobs within two years.

The pledge puts a spotlight on a 41-year-old politician who, as an opposition MP, led the push to criminalise LGBTQ activity in Ghana. For Americans, he is also the minister behind Ghana’s cyber regulator, which works with the FBI against scams aimed at US victims.

Who Is Sam George

Samuel Nartey George, widely known as Sam George, was born on 22 January 1985, according to his Parliament of Ghana profile. His hometown is Ahwiam, in Old Ningo.

Sam George studied agricultural engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). He later earned a law degree from the University of London and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics.

Before entering Parliament, he was an assistant director at the Office of the Head of Civil Service. He then worked as a communications specialist at the Office of the President, his parliamentary profile shows.

He belongs to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mahama’s centre-left party. In the party primary he defeated Enoch Teye Mensah, an NDC veteran in Parliament since 1997, Graphic Online reported.

In the December 2016 election he won Ningo-Prampram with 23,860 votes, beating Sylvester Tetteh of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the same report said.

He entered Parliament in January 2017 and still holds the seat. For a wider map of the actors around him, see our guide to Ghana’s key political players.

From Opposition Firebrand to Minister

The NDC spent eight years in opposition before Mahama won the December 2024 election. On 21 January 2025, a presidency statement signed by spokesman Felix Kwakye Ofosu named George to the communication and digital ministry, MyJoyOnline reported.

The ministry’s official website lists him as Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations. His remit covers telecoms, digital skills and the Cyber Security Authority, the agency that polices online fraud.

The Anti-LGBTQ Bill He Led

In June 2021, George and seven other MPs sponsored the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, Citi Newsroom reported. The private member’s bill sought to criminalise LGBTQ activities.

“Homosexuality is not a human right,” Sam George said at the time, calling it “a lifestyle choice,” according to Citi Newsroom. Parliament passed the bill in late February 2024, as 3News and our own report from that week noted.

Washington objected. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the bill would “certainly have a chilling effect on foreign investment and tourism in Ghana,” 3News reported.

Sam George answered that “Ghana is not the 51st state of the US.” He added that Miller “should be more interested” in American children killed by gun violence in schools.

That bill lapsed without presidential assent when the old Parliament ended. A new version passed on Friday, 29 May 2026, Citi Newsroom and MyJoyOnline reported.

Speaker Alban Bagbin then asked the House to reconsider it. Sam George argued that the House rules leave no room for that and urged that it go to Mahama, Citi Newsroom reported.

Parliament rose for recess on 31 July without reconsidering the bill, Citi Newsroom reported.

His Record on Telecoms and Cybercrime

As minister, Sam George has made network reliability a public theme. On 7 September he said Ghana had recorded 8,578 fibre-optic cable cuts in 2026, costing operators more than US$20 million in repairs.

In September, the National Communications Authority (NCA), the telecoms regulator under his ministry, awarded 700MHz airwaves for 5G to MTN Ghana. MTN, a South African group and the only qualified bidder for that band, is Ghana’s largest mobile operator.

In October he clashed publicly with Washington over credit. On 8 October, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that more than 130 people had been detained in Ghana in a scam crackdown targeting Americans.

Sam George replied on X that “Ghanaian law enforcement and intelligence led the Cyberhunt operations.” He said that suggesting the FBI acted alone “undermines the potential for future collaboration.”

Can Sam George Deliver 100,000 Digital Jobs

The new target came during a tour of the Ashanti Region, whose capital Kumasi is Ghana’s second-largest city. George visited artificial intelligence laboratories at KNUST and training centres at Kwadaso, Asawase and Nkwantakese, MyJoyOnline and Citi Newsroom reported.

“We are pivoting now away from the training into the job creation,” Sam George said. Both outlets reported that Mahama had told the ministry that trainees must also find work.

The original NDC promise was to train one million Ghanaians in digital skills over four years. “We will cross a million in the four years,” George said, adding that progress reports had been shown to the president.

The programme has so far built a pool of 10,000 data annotators, people who label data used to train artificial intelligence systems. George wants to offer such skills to foreign companies that outsource digital work.

Critics doubt the model. Franklin Cudjoe, who founded the Accra think tank IMANI Africa, questioned it in March, MyJoyOnline reported.

“We are in an AI revolution, and we are doing what? One million coders,” Cudjoe said.

What It Means for US Readers

For US companies that outsource data labelling, coding or customer support, Sam George is the official selling Ghana as a supplier. English is Ghana’s official language, and he now says the scheme is pivoting from training to jobs.

For US security agencies, he is a necessary partner with a sharp public voice. His dispute with Patel showed that Accra wants credit for its role in joint operations against fraud aimed at Americans.

For US policy, his record on LGBTQ rights is part of the picture. The State Department warned in 2024 that the bill he led could hurt foreign investment and tourism.

What Is Not Known

How many trainees have already found work through the programme is not known. No employers have been named for the promised jobs, and it is unclear how a “digitally enabled job” will be counted.

It is also unclear how the two-year jobs drive will be funded. Neither Accra nor Washington has said how the dispute over credit will shape future joint operations.

More: Ghana news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Sam George?

Samuel Nartey George is a Ghanaian NDC politician, born in 1985. He has been MP for Ningo-Prampram since 2017 and Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations since early 2025.

What did Sam George say about digital jobs?

In remarks reported on 13 October, he set a goal of 100,000 digital jobs within two years. The One Million Coders Programme is shifting from training to employment.

What is his role in Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ bill?

In June 2021 he led eight MPs who sponsored the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill. Parliament passed it in February 2024 and a new version on 29 May 2026.

How did the United States react to the bill?

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller warned that it would have a chilling effect on foreign investment and tourism. George replied that Ghana is not the 51st state of the US.

Why did Sam George criticise the FBI?

On 8 October he objected to FBI Director Kash Patel’s account of a scam crackdown. He said Ghanaian agencies led it, with British and FBI support.

Sources: MyJoyOnline, 13 October 2026; Citi Newsroom, 13 October 2026; Parliament of Ghana, accessed 13 October 2026; Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, 13 October 2026; MyJoyOnline, 21 January 2025; Citi Newsroom, 29 June 2021; 3News, 4 March 2024; Graphic Online, 8 December 2016; MyJoyOnline, 12 March 2026; MyJoyOnline, 30 May 2026; Citi Newsroom, 2 June 2026; Citi Newsroom, 4 June 2026; Citi Newsroom, 1 August 2026.

Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error