Concerning the National Information Technology Authority Bill, 2025 | by Siegfriedson | Sort of Like a Tech Diary | May, 2026 | MediumSitemapOpen in appSign up<br>Sign in

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This publication is a collection of technology-related essays (fancy for “article”) I will host on Medium, because I also write about other stuff.

Concerning the National Information Technology Authority Bill, 2025

Siegfriedson

12 min read·<br>9 hours ago

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In this article, I attempt to place the draft National Information Technology Authority Bill, 2025 [PDF], and the current state of Ghana’s “tech” community in the right context, to help us better understand what is happening, to propose what a more beneficial way forward may be, and perhaps shape how we respond to the current crisis.<br>Press enter or click to view image in full size

The current board of NITA, with the Minister in charge, at their swearing-in, 2025. Credit: MOCDTI LinkedIn.The Truth about the NITA Bill<br>To begin, I think its fair to understand that the NITA Bill is a power grab by the agency. It is a purely political move, for political purposes. All other concerns are window dressing.<br>It’s somewhat self-evident that any organisation will first seek to justify its existence, and then, (unless it is constrained by some greater power or principle) continue to perpetuate itself by gradually increasing the scope of its mandate and relevance over time. This is called “growth”, and “progress”, and its usually seen as a good thing. But sometimes, growth is cancerous.<br>The NITA Bill is quite literally this: Ghana’s National Information Technology Agency wants to become an “Authority”. It wants to assume more powers in the space in which it already plays. It wants to become more relevant to all participants in the tech space: companies and individual workers, as well as those whose lives these actors affect. NITA wants to be in the face of every Ghanaian.<br>This is not the first time a state agency has worked to achieve “Authority” status, and it will not be the last time. Unless it is constrained by some greater power (Parliament) or principle (fidelity to a certain kind of culture), NITA will always want to become an Authority. It will always seek more than what it already has.<br>NITA’s Perspective<br>Things begin to make sense when we look at this situation from the perspective of a typical government organisation. Among all government institutions, NITA is perhaps the closest to the tech space; “tech” meaning the community of mostly software engineers (this is important) and the broader ICT industry, including telecoms, cybersecurity, etc. If there’s any agency in government that could have a say in anything in the tech space, it’s going to be NITA.<br>Governments being what they are, proximity and the regulatory hammer go hand-in-hand; to be close to an industry is to ultimately have a say in what can be done by people within that space. This is true in many countries, but Ghana’s political culture potentially makes this even more toxic than it sometimes is.<br>Regardless, from the point of view of NITA, any increase in its regulatory power is a good thing. It is a sign of responsibility on their part to be seen as capable custodians of their neighbourhood. Hence, it should not surprise anyone that NITA will want to put forward such a bill. And even if this attempt fails, it should not surprise anyone that another attempt will be made by the same or other agency to achieve the same end.<br>This is the perennial risk for any facet of human life the government or other powerful institution is in contact with. There is the ever creeping shadow of control to contend with. This crisis is the latest salvo. Some blows have already landed hard in other sectors (see the recent ramping up of enforcement of the Postal and Courier Services Regulatory Commission Act, 2003, between 2019 and 2026) and as government agencies and authorities realise how much power the law gives them, such actions will only increase.<br>Government types — the sort of people who enjoy manning bureaucracies and all the managerial palaver that comes with it — abhor governance vacuums. They sniff out gaps in society and immediately fill in the blanks with a new clause, or act, or whatever.<br>There’s a strain of legal purism that cannot abide the existence of any aspect of human life that isn’t covered by some manner of legal framework. It is an approach to life and industry that is clashing with another radically different philosophy. This conflict is at the heart of the current crisis.<br>Understanding the Calls for Regulation<br>Many people who have spoken for or against NITA’s attempt to turn all ICT work in Ghana into a credentialed profession are right to draw equivalences to the medical, legal and some financial professions.

Ghanaian politician Sammy Gyamfi and other legal professionals at their call to the Bar, 2018. Credit: Prime News...