The YAFO Institute is extremely alarmed about the proposed National Information Technology Agency (NITA) Bill, 2025, which contains broad authorities, criminal sanctions, licensing requirements, and anti-market elements. The Bill is one of the most dangerous expansions of state authority over Ghana’s digital economy in recent memory, threatening to undo years of private-sector innovation, entrepreneurial growth, and technological advancement. We believe the Bill, in its current form, poses serious constitutional, economic, investment, and innovation-policy risks to Ghana’s digital future.
The Bill proposes sweeping new powers over Ghana’s ICT ecosystem, including:
- Mandatory licensing of ICT businesses,
- Mandatory certification of ICT professionals,
- Criminal penalties for unlicensed operations,
- A 1% levy on gross revenue of ICT entities,
- Expanded enforcement and inspection powers, and
- Broad ministerial authority to expand the scope of regulated activities.
While Ghana requires sound digital governance frameworks, the current Bill goes beyond acceptable regulation and risks turning the digital economy into a heavily permission-based sector governed by license, certification, and administrative discretion.
The Bill Criminalizes Ordinary Digital Entrepreneurship
Section 35 of the Bill mandates licensing requirements for ICT companies and related activities, while the offenses sections impose criminal penalties for operating without license. This means that software companies, freelance developers, small digital agencies, app developers, and independent technology entrepreneurs may risk criminal charges for operating without state approval.
The implications are profound. A university student producing software from a hostel room, a self-taught programmer developing websites for clients abroad, or a small business experimenting with digital products could all come under an expansive licensing system whose boundaries are undefined and unclear. Criminalizing entry-level innovation did not create a leading global technology ecosystem.
Mandatory Certification of ICT Professionals Raises Serious Concerns
Section 46 of the NITA bill establishes certification standards for ICT specialists. This proposition poses immediate legal and policy issues. This is because section 38(1) of the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772) provide that “a licence shall not be issued or granted by the Agency to an individual.” However, the new Bill appears to be expressly designed to establish a framework for the certification and regulation of individuals in the ICT sector.
The government through the ministry of communication digital technology and innovations must clearly explain:
- Does this expand state power?
- Do existing certification processes violate statutory authority?
- How does this plan integrate with Ghana’s digital empowerment agenda?
When considered in conjunction with the government’s One Million Coders Programme, the discrepancy becomes even more apparent. Ghana cannot promote coding, digital freelancing, and technology entrepreneurship while enforcing license and certification requirements for employment in the field.
The 1% Gross Revenue Levy is Economically Harmful
The Bill imposes a 1% tax on the gross revenue of ICT enterprises. This is one of the most economically harmful parts of the proposed framework. Gross revenue is not the same as profit. It fails to take into account the following:
- Operational costs,
- Infrastructure expenses,
- Salaries,
- Electricity costs,
- Internet services,
- Taxes,
- Cloud infrastructure, or
- Startup losses.
A startup with thin margins may lose a considerable amount of its actual earnings before attaining profitability. No major innovation economy levies such high taxes on new technology enterprises through sector regulators. This proposed bill may discourage:
- Startup formation,
- Venture investment,
- Experimentation, and
- Digital entrepreneurship at precisely the moment Ghana claims to be pursuing digital transformation.
Regulatory Overlap and Institutional Fragmentation
The proposed regulatory framework also risks causing overlapping jurisdiction among:
- National Information Technology Agency,
- The Cyber Security Authority.
- The National Communications Authority.
- The Data Protection Commission, and
- Future regulators for emerging technologies.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) provides regulatory best-practice standards that should prioritize institutional transparency, proportionality, and the avoidance of duplicative compliance obligations.
Instead, Ghana risks creating a fragmented digital governance architecture in which businesses and investors must navigate overlapping approvals, compliance systems, certifications, reporting requirements, and enforcement regimes. This leads to uncertainty, higher compliance costs, and hinders innovation.
Broad Ministerial Powers Threaten Regulatory Certainty
The Bill apparently gives the Minister the ability to expand or amend regulated ICT activity through Legislative Instrument. Such restrictions cause long-term uncertainty for firms and investors since the scope of regulated activity may grow without new parliamentary legislation.
Innovation economies necessitate reliable legal environments. Investors do not commit resources to industries where regulatory duties may be continually expanded through administrative discretion.
Ghana Risks Becoming Hostile to Investment
The bill also includes very problematic limits on investment and business development. Ghana cannot position itself as the “Gateway to West Africa” while also building one of the continent’s most stringent digital regulatory systems. Investors prefer predictability, transparency, and regulatory clarity against excessive licensing, overlapping compliance obligations, and ministerial discretion. At a time when African countries are fiercely fighting for technological investment, Ghana should simplify its regulatory environment rather than weaponize bureaucracy against entrepreneurs.
International Best Practices Reject Mandatory Licensing of Software Developers, Creates Favourable Environment and Avoid Gate Keeping
The YAFO Institute calls on the government to conduct a more thorough analysis of international best practices.
Kenya witnessed strong public opposition to similar ICT practitioner licensing ideas following worries about overregulation and impediments to innovation.
South Africa, Africa’s most mature technology ecosystem, relies heavily on voluntary professional groups rather than criminal penalties and mandated licensing for software developers.
The United States, Europe, India, Israel, and Estonia similarly rely on market-driven competence systems rather than state licensing regimes for regular software development.
Technology ecosystems thrive where:
- Barriers to entry are low,
- Experimentation is encouraged,
- Innovation is decentralized, and
- Competence is judged by market performance rather than bureaucratic approval.
Constitutional and Administrative Law Concerns
The YAFO Institute is also worried by evidence that portions of the envisaged licensing and compliance ecosystem may have already been operationalized administratively prior to parliamentary approval.
Under Ghana’s constitutional structure, public entities have only the powers allowed by law. Administrative agencies cannot exercise future jurisdiction until Parliament has legislated it. Any implementation-style systems that go beyond present statutory power face constitutional challenges under the principles of legality, procedural fairness, and delegated authority limits outlined in Articles 23 and 296 of the 1992 Constitution.
Recommendations
The YAFO Institute immediately calls for:
- The proposed Bill should be immediately withdrawn and redrafted.
- Conduct a thorough regulatory impact assessment before parliamentary approval.
- Elimination of criminal penalties for ordinary ICT entrepreneurial activities.
- Removal of mandatory qualification requirements for ICT professionals.
- Remove the anticipated 1% gross revenue levy.
- Ensured statutory homogeneity across Ghana’s digital regulators.
- Adopting innovation-friendly regulatory principles aligned with leading global technology ecosystems.
- Conducted nationwide stakeholder consultations with entrepreneurs, developers, investors, innovation hubs, civil society organizations, academia, and industry professionals.
Conclusion
Ghana’s digital economy was established by innovators, entrepreneurs, freelancers, startups, and self-taught developers who had the flexibility to experiment and create value. The future of Ghana’s digital ecosystem is dependent on transparency, investment, innovation, and constitutional restraint, rather than excessive licensing, administrative overreach, and regulatory gatekeeping. The proposed National Information Technology Authority Bill, 2025, in its current structure, has the potential to steer Ghana in the wrong direction.
