Technology analyst and consultant Barnabas Nii Laryea has warned that Ghana’s proposed National Information Technology Authority (NITA) Bill could undermine innovation and create fear within the country’s growing technology ecosystem.
Speaking on PM Express on Monday, Mr Laryea argued that the draft legislation risks creating barriers for innovators, startups, and young developers instead of supporting growth in the digital economy.
The proposed NITA Bill seeks to transform the National Information Technology Authority into a stronger independent regulator with expanded oversight powers over Ghana’s digital sector.
Among its key proposals are mandatory licensing for ICT businesses, certification requirements for ICT professionals, regulation of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, and the introduction of a proposed one per cent levy on ICT services.
However, Mr Laryea said several provisions in the bill remain overly broad and ambiguous.
“I think you should be worried, because regulation can go as far as lowering the barriers to innovation rather than creating the kind of enabling environment that you want to see,” he stated.
According to him, one of the major 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 explained.
He questioned whether the proposed law could end up affecting ordinary software 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 asked.
Mr Laryea argued that uncertainty surrounding the definition of an ICT professional has heightened concerns within the technology sector.
“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 said.
He also criticised what he described as the government’s attempt to push multiple digital-related bills simultaneously.
“We talked about 15 bills that the ministry is pushing. From any public policy standpoint, it’s overly ambitious, and it creates room for some of these tensions,” he stated.
According to him, the speed and scale of the proposed legislative reforms have caused many stakeholders to question the government’s intentions.
“The first thing you are thinking about is what they are hiding, because you don’t do 15 bills at a time. 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 potentially 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 noted.
Using the example of a young software developer launching an application without full awareness of the law, he cautioned that innovators could unknowingly become non-compliant.
“The founder could technically become non-compliant, and this is not how modern innovation ecosystems are built,” he stressed.
