The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has begun work on releasing to the Data Protection Commission (DPC), the list of all active businesses in the country to enforce to the letter the country’s Data Protection Act.
The Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) mandates the Commission to protect the privacy of the individual and personal data by regulating the processing of personal information—thus the need for the list of all active businesses in the country and have them registered with the commission.
Announcing the partnership with the GRA at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, 26th January 2022, the Executive Director of the DPC, Patricia Adusei-Poku, said: “All these efforts are to make sure that those who collect our data routinely to do their business will have no other choice but to come and make themselves known to the commission…and once that happens, we will also make known to them the legal obligation that they have to comply with.”
According to Ms. Adusei-Poku, there’s an increasing demand for data protection as a due diligence requirement, which without it, one cannot complete a contract arrangement, thus, the need to step up the compliance level in the country.
Prosecuting defaulting institutions
Ms. Adusei-Poku further revealed that the DPC would soon start the prosecution of companies, institutions and organisations classified as Data Controllers that have refused to register with the commission or renew their data protection licenses.
The Commission, she said, had already spoken to the Attorney General on the upcoming prosecutions and the latter agreed to give the DPC a prosecutor for that purpose.
“We want to create a fast-track court…create and compile the list of all the defaulting institutions and then fast-track all their cases to court to enforce the law. We are working hard to compile that list to share with the Attorney General to prosecute all of those institutions that are continuously boycotting and going under the radar as far as our work is concerned,” Ms. Adusei-Poku stated.
She added that the Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, was also engaged on the development and gave his blessings he will set up a court for the Commission so long as evidence can be provided to him that there are enough cases to justify the setup of the Fast-track court.
