A draft bill being considered by Ghana’s Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovations would transform the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) into a powerful digital-sector regulator with authority to imprison individuals who operate unlicensed ICT businesses, potentially including freelance web developers, phone repairers, software programmers, and even self-taught AI users.

Section 35 of the draft NITA Bill states that no person may “engage in a business or related activity in the ICT sector” without a licence from NITA, expressly including the installation of ICT infrastructure, development or provision of ICT products and services, and activities requiring licensing or certification . Violators face fines of 2,000 to 5,000 penalty units and up to two years in prison.

Technology policy analyst Bright Simons, vice president of IMANI Africa, warns that the bill’s sweeping language would criminalize everyday digital work.

“Is the government of Ghana going to insist on licensing every single person who builds a website, uses Microsoft Power BI to create charts for a company, or deploys AI to craft flyers?” Simons writes in a detailed critique.

The penalties extend further. Section 46 of the bill would prohibit any public or private institution from appointing an “ICT professional” unless certified by NITA. Section 90 makes providing ICT services without a license, or falsely claiming certified status, equally punishable.

The Draft NITA Bill Should be Shredded

“The Real Threat Picture”

The proposed law has drawn sharp condemnation from technology professionals, startup founders, and policy analysts who describe it as a potential “digital command economy” that could cripple Ghana’s nascent tech sector.

In a detailed analysis widely circulated on social media, a commentator writing as BlackStarPatriot warned that Parliament is considering “a bill that decides who can build Ghana’s digital future, who can work in it, and who can go to prison for touching a keyboard without permission.”

The post added: “We are not talking about fraud or cybercrime. We are talking about writing code and shipping products without a government permission slip.”

Technology blogger and digital policy commentator MacJordan Degadjor focused particular criticism on Sections 35 to 37, warning that provisions limiting licenses to companies wholly owned by Ghanaian citizens would deter foreign investment and venture capital.

“This directly threatens the foreign capital, partnerships, and expertise that fuel Ghanaian success stories,” he said, citing homegrown firms Hubtel and mPharma as examples of what is at stake.

Data scientist Alfred, posting on X, warned that Ghana risked undoing years of digital sector progress. He specifically criticized proposals requiring technology professionals to obtain NITA certification before working in either the public or private sector.

The Legal Foundation Dispute

The government has pushed back forcefully against the criticism. Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George insists that NITA is simply enforcing existing legislation, not proposing new powers.

“The Ministry is simply ENFORCING existing legislation that has been on our books since 2008, 2023 and 2025. The proposed new legislation has NOT even been laid before Parliament,” George said in a Facebook post.

He cited the National Information Technology Agency Act, 2008 (Act 771), the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772), the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2481), and the 2025 amendment, L.I. 2512, as the legal basis for NITA’s current enforcement regime . George challenged critics to identify any enforcement action by NITA that falls outside the scope of these existing laws and described allegations against the agency as “spurious,” accusing critics of jumping on “bandwagon trends” without understanding the legal framework.

NITA itself issued a clarification arguing that its authority predates the draft bill and is grounded in Acts 771 and 772 of 2008, as well as Legislative Instruments passed by Parliament.

The agency noted that accreditation fees of 20,000 cedis (approximately US$1,900) for fintech firms and 10,000 cedis for e-commerce operators already exist under current regulations and are not newly created by the pending legislation.

A “Ridiculous” Definition of ICT Professionals

Simons argues that the fundamental flaw in the bill is its attempt to treat “ICT professional” as a unified category requiring state licensing, comparable to nurses, lawyers, or engineers, when in reality the term covers vastly different occupations.

“Is the government of Ghana going to insist on licensing every single person in Ghana who builds a website?” Simons asks.

He notes that international occupational systems such as Eurostat and O*NET list dozens of distinct computer occupations, software developers, network architects, cybersecurity analysts, database administrators, web developers, data scientists, support specialists, QA testers, and IT project managers, among them, all operating under the vague “IT professional” umbrella.

He warns that under no circumstances should any government “poke its long nose into stuff like ‘writing code,’ ‘installing a router,’ ‘maintaining a school website,’ ‘handling some graphic design,’ ‘being a product manager at a food delivery company,’ ‘using AI to generate a UI for a service,’ or ‘working in an IT department of a small law firm’”.

The risks, he argues, are not national-scale, and employers should be left to manage their own personnel validation.

The rise of AI, Simons adds, has thrown a wrench into the entire definition. “A founder describes an app to a model, a non-technical employee uses AI to build an internal workflow, a designer generates front-end code… Who is the ‘ICT professional’ here? The geography graduate with a few hours on Reddit typing out prompts? The AI tool vendor? The person who clicks deploy?”

Citizen-Only Ownership Clause Raises Investment Fears

Section 37 of the draft bill requires that any license applicant must be an adult Ghanaian citizen or a company “wholly owned by a citizen.” Simons describes this clause as “potentially devastating,” warning that Ghanaian startups with foreign venture capital, non-citizen co-founders, regional holding structures, offshore investors, or employee stock held by non-citizens would struggle to qualify for ICT licenses.

“The same government that markets Ghana as a digital hub is writing ‘locals only’ into law,” the BlackStarPatriot analysis noted.

Analysts warn this could contradict Ghana’s commitments under ECOWAS free movement and establishment principles and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) services liberalization framework.

Parliament is about to vote on a bill that decides who can build Ghana’s digital future, who can work in it, and who can go to prison for touching a keyboard without permission. This is the real threat picture in the NITA Bill.

Section 35 says you cannot “engage in a business or… pic.twitter.com/rlIjUSplRM

— BlackStarPatriot (@1957_GHPatriot) May 22, 2026

Overlapping Regulation and Informality Concerns

Simons and other analysts also highlight the problem of regulatory duplication. A fintech company in Ghana already faces potential oversight from the Cyber Security Authority, Data Protection Commission, National Communications Authority, Bank of Ghana, Ghana Standards Authority, Public Procurement Authority, GIPC, and the Engineering Council. The NITA bill would add another layer of licensing, audits, and approvals.

John Sitsofe Mensah, a technology policy analyst at IMANI Africa, described NITA’s push as “regulation by invoicing”—attempting to extract a substantive regulatory mandate out of a consolidated financial instrument. He noted that Section 38(1) of Act 772 contains an explicit prohibition: “A license shall not be issued or granted by the Agency to an individual” .

The informal ICT economy, laptop repairers, phone technicians, CCTV installers, router vendors, fiber contractors, school computer-lab maintainers, POS support agents, market traders selling peripherals, and cybercafé operators, could be devastated, analysts warn.

“If enforced aggressively, the scheme could raise the cost of basic repairs and installations, push informal technicians further underground, create opportunities for inspectors to extract bribes, and reduce access to affordable hardware support in rural and low-income areas,” Simons writes.

Path Forward

Simons and other analysts have proposed a more targeted approach: replace the broad Section 35 ban with a schedule of genuinely high-risk activities (critical public digital infrastructure, financial services cybersecurity auditing, Tier II and III data center operations); rewrite Section 46 so certification applies only to defined risk roles in the public sector; add exemptions for small businesses, hobbyists, and internal IT work; and remove the citizen-only ownership rule.

“A careful NITA law could be one of Ghana’s most groundbreaking digital economy reforms—especially if it focuses on fixing wasteful, opaque public ICT procurement,” Simons concludes. “But a careless version could become a massive burden on a struggling, still nascent technology sector. The draft bill tilts more to the latter than the former.”

The Ministry of Communications maintains that the draft bill remains under stakeholder consultation and has not yet been laid before Parliament. However, with mounting opposition from across Ghana’s tech ecosystem, the legislation faces an uncertain path forward.

Key Facts at a Glance

Aspect	Details
Proposed Law	Draft NITA Bill (under stakeholder consultation, not yet before Parliament)
Key Provision (Section 35)	No person may engage in ICT business without NITA licence
Penalties	Fines of 2,000–5,000 penalty units + up to 2 years imprisonment
Scope	Includes software dev, web design, phone repair, cloud hosting, SaaS, digital platforms
Ownership Rule (Section 37)	Licences only for adult Ghanaian citizens or wholly citizen-owned entities
Certification (Section 46)	No public/private institution may appoint ICT pro without NITA certification
Government Position	Enforcing existing laws (Acts 771, 772; L.I. 2481, 2512) – not a new bill
Critics	Bright Simons (IMANI), MacJordan Degadjor, tech startups, freelance developers

Aliko Dangote urges private investment as delays in Côte d’Ivoire stretch to three weeks, announces plans for Africa’s largest seaport

LAGOS – Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has issued a stark warning about a critical infrastructure gap affecting both West and Central Africa: a severe shortage of ports capable of handling the region’s growing maritime trade.

Speaking at the Mid-Year Session of the Board of Directors of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) in Lagos, the Nigerian billionaire said the lack of adequate port infrastructure is already causing significant delays, with vessels waiting up to three weeks to discharge goods in some locations.

“My own is actually to continue to encourage you to encourage people to come and invest in ports because, really, we are running short of ports, especially in West and Central Africa,” Dangote told regional port authority leaders.

Ghana Stock Exchange Named Best Performing in Africa

Three-Week Delays in Côte d’Ivoire

The industrialist offered a stark illustration of the crisis, describing firsthand experience with port congestion on the continent.

“In some areas where we go to discharge our goods, especially in Côte d’Ivoire, I think we wait for three weeks,” he said.

The delays, he suggested, are not merely inconvenient but are actively constraining trade and economic growth across a region that relies heavily on maritime commerce for imports and exports.

A Radical Proposal: Governments Should Not Build Ports

In remarks that may challenge conventional thinking about infrastructure development, Dangote argued that governments have no business building ports. Instead, he called for a fundamental shift in approach.

“The government has no business investing in ports,” he stated. “What you need to do is actually to encourage entrepreneurs to invest heavily so that your own revenues will increase. You should be good at collecting revenues, not building ports.”

Dangoe urged port authorities to become enablers of private sector investment rather than direct developers.

“So, you should encourage the private sector to build its ports,” he added.

Lekki: The Deepest Seaport in Africa

Dangote pointed to the Lekki Free Trade Zone as an example of what private investment can achieve, noting that the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has been encouraging his company to build there.

“But I can assure you that the Lekki Free Trade Zone will be the largest, deepest seaport in Africa. Not in West Africa, in Africa,” he said.

The scale of the ambition reflects Dangote’s broader pivot toward logistics as a core business. He revealed that his conglomerate is now treating ports as a strategic priority rather than a peripheral operation.

Expansion to East Africa

Dangote also announced that the Dangote Group is expanding its port ambitions beyond West Africa, with a new project underway in East Africa.

“We just concluded discussions two days ago with the President of Tanzania. We also want to build another port,” he said.

The move signals a continental strategy for the Nigerian billionaire, who aims to position his company as Africa’s largest supplier of logistics going forward.

From Operations to Industry

“Now, we are taking ports as our own business. Before, we were just doing it as part of our operations, but right now, we will be the biggest African supplier of logistics going forward,” Dangote said.

The announcement comes amid growing recognition across the continent that port infrastructure has not kept pace with trade volumes.

West and Central Africa’s ports, many of which were built decades ago, face increasing congestion as regional economies grow and intra-African trade expands under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Whether Dangote’s call for private-sector-led port development will be heeded by regional governments remains to be seen. But his message was unambiguous: the continent cannot afford to wait.

The Ghana Stock Exchange has been ranked as the best-performing stock market in Africa for 2024, and early data from the first quarter of 2025 shows it remains on the same trajectory, according to a high-level delegation from Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The disclosure was made during a courtesy visit to Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Emmanuel Smith, led by SEC Deputy Director-General Mensah Thompson.

The meeting, which took place in Washington, D.C., focused on the exchange’s remarkable performance, the role of the diaspora in national development, and the growing opportunities for investors eyeing Ghana’s economic recovery.

“The Ghana Stock Exchange was the best in Africa in 2024, and this year, even within the first quarter, the exchange remains the best performing in Africa,” Thompson told the Ambassador.

He attributed the strong performance to declining inflation, improving economic stability, and lower interest rates—conditions that have made Ghana’s capital markets increasingly attractive to investors seeking stronger returns than those available in more saturated markets.

From Economist to Cocoa Farmer: Meet The Woman Building a $1 Million Agri-Chocolate Dream in Ghana

Ambassador Calls for Diaspora and Foreign Capital

Ambassador Smith welcomed the news and used the platform to make a direct appeal to wealthy Ghanaians abroad and foreign investors. He argued that channelling diaspora resources and “American big pockets” back into Ghana would create jobs and reduce the economic pressure that drives many young Ghanaians to seek opportunities overseas.

“We can partner with some of these American big pockets and take advantage of the opportunities we are offering back home,” Smith said.

He revealed that his office, working alongside the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), is actively organising investor presentations and forums to showcase Ghana’s investment climate. He urged the SEC delegation to participate in all business engagements organised by the Embassy.

“My emphasis is on taking Ghanaians with you, encouraging those in the diaspora to invest and return home to help build the country,” he added.

Licensed Platforms and Investor Protection

Dorothy Yeboah-Asiamah, the SEC’s Head of International Relations, addressed the growing interest among Ghanaians abroad in investing in local securities. She urged potential investors to use only licensed and regulated platforms to protect their funds and strengthen overall market confidence.

“We have licensed brokers and investment schemes that allow people abroad to safely invest in securities in Ghana, and we want more members of the diaspora to take advantage of these opportunities,” she said.

The SEC delegation to Washington also included Peter McNamara (Policy Research Unit), Emmanuel Darko (Broker Dealers and Advisers), Richard Dusi (Head of Fintech and Innovation), and Marilyn Lamiokor-Mills (Board Secretariat).

The visit underscores Ghana’s aggressive push to position itself as a premier investment destination in Africa, leveraging its capital markets as a key pillar of economic transformation.