Businesses without data protection license may not be able to bid for government contracts, a directive from the Data Protection Commission in collaboration with the Public Procurement Authority has indicated.

The Data Protection Act mandates all firms to obtain data protection license before beginning operations.

Speaking at a press conference to update Journalists on the Data Protection Week, Executive Director of the Data Protection Commission, Patricia Adusei Poku, said the new order has become necessary to protect clients and the general public from data abuse, since the country is embarking on many digital initiatives.

According to her, obtaining a license from the commission is a basic requirement for firms that deals in data collection for their daily activities.

“We are working with other regulatory agencies and government authorities to begin demanding a data protection license from contractors. The Public Procurement Authority is collaborating with us on that to ensure that all contractors have license as a mandate before giving any project” she noted.

She also used the opportunity to announce that Ghana has been elected as President for the Africa Data Protection Agencies, a development that positions the country as a standard in the industry.

The Annual Data Protection Awareness week is under the theme “Transparency, Trust and Transformation in Digitization.”

The Commission will be engaging Chief Executives of data collection firms as part of the week’s celebration in Accra.