Data Protection Commission to audit companies, institutions
The Data Protection Commission says it will this year focus on enforcing and auditing companies who have registered with the commission.
The Executive Director of the commission, Patricia Adusei-Poku, explained that the move was to ensure that the registered companies were complying with the Data Protection Act 2012 Act 843, which sought to protect personal data.
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She said the commission had already received a dedicated prosecutor to prosecute defaulting companies.
“We have also requested for a fast-track court to facilitate the prosecution of defaulters,” she noted.
Celebration
Ms Adusei-Poku was speaking at the opening ceremony of a week-long celebration to mark the Data Protection Day in Kumasi.
It was dubbed: “'Data Governance for a safe digitised space”.
The Data Protection Week is observed from January 24 to January 28 each year to raise awareness and promote data protection best practices.
It is also intended to promote events and activities that encourage compliance with privacy laws and regulations, and create dialogues among stakeholders interested in advancing data protection.
This year's week-long activities included a nationwide awareness campaign and free sector-based webinars for health, academia, security and finance.
It also includes a free in-person session with chief executive officers at a breakfast meeting today at the Lancaster Accra — formerly Golden Tulip Hotel.
Ms Adusei-Poku urged business owners to join in the activities to understand the Data Protection Act and its implications on their daily business activities.
She also entreated them to register with the commission to avoid being put on the active list of non-compliant institutions awaiting prosecution.
“We are educating the public to access the Data Protection Commission and to know how to protect data.
Section 28 says anyone who takes data should ensure that they use appropriate technologies and organisational measures to secure personal data,” she said.
Compliance
In a speech read on her behalf, the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu Ekuful, hinted that the year would see the enforcement of the Data Protection Act, particularly on the side of compliance to put non-compliant organisations under the radar.
She further noted that the commission had put together a three to five-year strategy document to give Ghana a real time framework for data governance under the Data Protection Act 2012 (Act 843) to fit Ghana’s agenda of building a safe digitised space.
A Senior Lecturer of the School of Business of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Dr Rosemary Coffie, commended the Commission for efforts to ensure that data protection was added to the school’s curriculum to build knowledge at the early stages.
Officials from the Cyber Security Authority, National Communications Authority and the National Data Centre were in attendance.
