Regulating ICT sector: NITA holds engagement on LIs for Acts 771, 772

The National Information Technology Agency (NITA), is set to hold a brainstorming ICT stakeholder conference to review the draft content of two Legislative Instruments (LIs) for the agency.

The input from the players in the ICT space will play a critical role in fine tuning the draft LIs for the NITA Act, 2008 (Act 771) and the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772) which are being prepared to be put before Parliament.

The consultative conference is taking place at the Kofi Annan Centre for Excellence (KACE) from tomorrow, July 5 to July, 7, 2023. It begins at 11am each day.

The two statutes, Act 771 and Act 772, are primary legislations whose corresponding operational subsidiary legal framework have not yet been passed, Emmanuel J.A. Fiagbenu – Head of Corporate Affairs, said.

“These operational legal framework documents are critical for the effective operationalization /implementation of the primary legislation. The combined legal ecosystem of the primary and the subsidiary legislation are critical for effective development of the Government digital ecosystem, and the private sector and non-governmental digital ecosystem. These are also vital for the citizen digital ecosystem and change management orientations across the three ecosystems for policy goal attainment,” he stated in a statement.

“This would provide the certainty of planning, assurance and support for innovation and the growth of digital entrepreneurs and digital products in a manner which assures the transformation impact realization as a product of digitalization,” he added.

The Director General of NITA, Richard Okyere-Fosu, said the exercise is, not only important to the Agency and the government, but also to all players and consumers in the ICT sector. “NITA has existed for 15 years without these key legislative instruments (LIs)., which are considered essential operational tools needed for NITA to function fully and effectively,” he said

Reiterating the importance of regulating ICT properly, he said: “This is a journey we started with our stakeholders and it is important to seek their inputs to make the LI industry-friendly and industry relevant.”

The consultative workshop is open to all stakeholders in the ICT ecosystem (professionals, businesses, lecturers, students, etc.).