Minister for Communication, Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, has moved to calm public concern over the proposed National Information Technology Authority (NITA) Bill, stressing that the document in circulation is only a preliminary draft with no legal force.
Speaking at a stakeholder engagement in Accra on Tuesday, May 26, the Minister said the narrative that the government has already passed or is implementing the bill is inaccurate.
“That is so far away from the fact and the truth,” he said, explaining that the document is a “zero draft” — the earliest stage of the legislative process.
Sam George revealed that the bill has already undergone several revisions with legal teams, but has not yet received his final approval. “The fifth iteration has still not even been approved by the ministry,” he said.
He further noted that the bill is not among the 10 Cabinet memoranda currently being processed by his ministry, stressing it has not yet been submitted to Cabinet for consideration.
The Minister outlined the legislative process required for any bill to become law, stating that it must pass through the Ministry, Cabinet, the Attorney-General’s Department and Parliament for clause-by-clause consideration before enactment.
On existing legal frameworks, Mr George pointed to Acts 771 and 772, passed in 2008, which currently govern Ghana’s ICT sector. He described the legislation as forward-looking at the time, noting that he had already begun his career in the tech industry when they were enacted.
However, he acknowledged that the sector has evolved significantly over the past 18 years, with parts of the existing laws now outdated or under-implemented, necessitating reforms.
He explained that when completed, the NITA Bill will transform the National Information Technology Agency into a full regulatory authority with powers to license ICT companies, certify professionals, set digital standards and regulate government technology procurement.
The proposed law also includes provisions for an ICT tribunal to handle disputes, as well as penalties for fraud, unlicensed operations and data breaches.