A Technology Analyst and Consultant, Barnabas Nii Laryea, has warned that Ghana’s proposed National Information Technology Authority (NITA) Bill could undermine innovation and sow fear throughout the country’s growing tech ecosystem.
Speaking on PM Express on Monday, Mr Laryea said the draft legislation risks creating barriers instead of supporting young innovators and startups.
The proposed National Information Technology Authority Bill seeks to transform NITA into a stronger independent regulator with sweeping powers over Ghana’s digital sector.
The draft law proposes mandatory licensing for ICT businesses, certification for ICT professionals, regulation of emerging technologies, including AI and blockchain, and a proposed one per cent levy on ICT services.
But Mr Laryea argued that parts of the bill remain dangerously broad and ambiguous.
“I think you should be worried, because regulation can go as far as becoming it can go as far as lowering the barriers to innovation rather than creating the kind of enabling environment that you want to see,” he said.
According to him, one of the biggest concerns is the provision requiring all ICT businesses to obtain licences before operating.
“If you look at a specific issue, like every ICT business must be licensed, and then it’s saying that a person shall not engage in a business or related activity in the ICT sector, unless that person has been granted a licence,” he stated.
He warned that the definitions captured in the bill could affect ordinary developers, students and startup founders.
“Does a web developer need a licence? Does a website developer need a licence? Does a student who is just building simple SaaS products, even in KNUST today, need a licence? Does a startup founder need a licence before they launch?” he questioned.
Mr Laryea said the uncertainty surrounding who qualifies as an ICT professional has deepened anxiety within the technology space.
“The document in itself has not been able to define properly who an ICT professional is, so it leaves this whole definition in ambiguity that creates the kind of tension that we are seeing,” he explained.
He also criticised the speed at which government is attempting to push multiple digital bills simultaneously.
“We talked about 15 bills that the ministry is pushing. For any public policy standpoint, it’s overly ambitious, and it creates room for some of these tensions,” he said.
According to him, many stakeholders are beginning to question government’s intentions because of the scale and pace of the proposed legislative reforms.
“The first thing you are thinking about is what they are hiding, because you don’t do 15 bills at a time, because it needs a lot of attention, a lot of time, a lot of man-hours to be able to make sure that you get the bill right,” he added.
Mr Laryea further warned that the bill could criminalise innovation itself.
“If you look at 35(4), it says that it will create penalties for operating without this said licence, so there will be huge fines, there could be imprisonment,” he stated.
He illustrated the danger with the example of a young software developer unknowingly falling foul of the law after launching an app.
“The founder could technically become non-compliant, and this is not how modern innovation ecosystems are built,” he stressed.
