Richard Ahiagbah, the Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has asserted that the Mahama administration is undermining the employment opportunities for ICT professionals, Fintech operators, and technology start-ups.
He claims that the government is achieving this through the introduction of licensing fees, registration charges, and certification requirements aimed at individual ICT professionals, technology startups, and fintech operators in Ghana.
In a post on his X page, he stated, “President Mahama and the NDC government, via the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), are enforcing a system of licensing fees, registration charges, and certification requirements that target individual ICT professionals, technology startups, and fintech operators in Ghana.
“For a government that is failing to create jobs, it should be the last to eliminate any employment through its policy decisions and inaction. During the NPP’s tenure, under President Akufo-Addo and Bawumia, significant investments and focus were directed towards that sector. Recall the term, Digital Bawumia? The sector flourished under the NPP’s Akufo-Addo and Bawumia Administration. Rather than enhancing what he inherited, President Mahama and the NDC are erecting barriers around a sector that does not need them. JOB KILLERS.”
Nevertheless, the government has mounted a robust defense of the National Information Technology Agency’s enforcement of registration fees, certification requirements, and compliance obligations for ICT firms, fintechs, and digital service providers.
Some critics have accused NITA of trying to enforce provisions of a proposed law that has yet to be approved by Parliament.
However, the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has dismissed these claims, asserting that the Agency’s actions are entirely based on existing legislation that is already in effect.
“The Ministry is merely ENFORCING existing laws that have been established since 2008, 2023, and 2025. The proposed new legislation has NOT yet been presented to Parliament,” the Minister expressed in a strongly worded Facebook post.
The ongoing dispute has raised increasing concerns within the ICT sector, especially among startups, fintech operators, and digital service providers, who are apprehensive about escalating compliance costs and the broader impact on innovation and the ease of conducting business in Ghana’s rapidly growing digital economy.
Sam George refuted allegations that NITA is operating beyond its authority as “spurious,” accusing certain critics of joining “bandwagon trends” without comprehending the legal framework that supports the Agency’s actions.
He referenced 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 foundation for the Agency’s current enforcement practices.
The Minister further urged critics to pinpoint any specific enforcement action by NITA that exceeds the boundaries of existing law.
His remarks followed NITA’s issuance of a formal clarification in response to increasing criticism on social media regarding the agency’s fee structures and registration requirements. In that statement, NITA contended that the current regulatory framework predates the proposed NITA Bill, which is currently under stakeholder consultation, and is already supported by established Legislative Instruments that have been passed through Parliament.
According to the Agency, L.I. 2481 already includes provisions for the registration of ICT companies, ICT professionals, fintech entities, and e-commerce providers.
“The assertion that NITA ‘manufactured tomorrow’s powers today’ disregards the existence of these already functional legal instruments,” the Agency asserted.
