Data Protection Week launched …Legal community urged to intensify data protection laws
Report by Ben LARYEA
Data Protection Commission (DPC) in partnership with the Ghana Association of Privacy Professionals (GAPP) has launched the data protection week 2026 with the call on the judiciary and the legal community to deepen the understanding of data protection laws.
Consequently, they have called on both public and private institutions to urgently review their data processing activities and register their respective institutions with the Data Protection
Commission and thus urged Ghanaians to take personal data protection serious.
The month-long series of activities is on the theme, “Your data, Your identity : Building trust in Ghana’s Digital Future” is geared towards raising awareness and driving compliance in securing Ghana‘s digital transformation.
Line up of activities to celebrate the occasion includes, national media campaign, sectoral workshops, master classes to build capacity for industry players, encounter with students on awareness creation on data protection, conferences, and Awards night.
Speaking at the media launch in Accra, the Deputy Minister of Communications , Mohammed Adam Sukparu, said countries around the world have invested massively in digital identity systems, and have impacted positively on the citizenry.
He said government has invested in areas such as mobile money, E-government services and other digital technologies, adding that the investments can realize its potential when citizens trust that their personal data is lawfully secured.
According to him, the demand long programme, culminating in a national data protection conference in February this year reflect government’s acknowledgment that data protection must evolve alongside the country’s digital transformation.
The Deputy Minister said government will continue to support the commission to scale up compliance across public and private sectors as part of the effort to effectively operate within their rules and obligations of Act 843.
In his address, the Executive Director of Data Protection Commission, Dr. Arnold Kavaarpuo said the year 2026 will be an enforcement of Ghana Data Protection Act and however, said that failure of institutions to register the commission will be sanctioned.
Throwing more light on the theme, he said it is a call to action seeing a future built on digital innovation, can not be sustained on a foundation of mistrust , adding that compliance with the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) is non-negotiable that handles the data of Ghanaian citizens.
President of GAPP, Mr. Emmanuel K. Gadasu, said the Association is committed in building a competent community of practice that can guide organizations towards ethical stewardship, adding trust is not just about legal compliance, but embedding a culture of privacy into their DNA of the country’s institutions.
