Founder of Fidelity Bank Ghana, Edward Effah, has cautioned that aspects of the proposed National Information Technology Agency (NITA) bill could undermine the country’s ambition to become a leading artificial intelligence (AI) hub in West Africa.

Delivering the keynote address at the 10th Ghana CEO Summit attended by President John Dramani Mahama, Mr. Effah said the country’s digital transformation and economic development agenda would require regulatory certainty, stronger public-private collaboration and institutions capable of surviving political transitions.

While welcoming government’s recently launched National AI Strategy, he warned that provisions contained in the current draft of the NITA bill risk creating barriers to innovation, entrepreneurship and investment.

“The National Information Technology Agency has also proposed a NITA bill, along with several other bills, which are forward-looking and demonstrate a renewed commitment to creating a modern regulatory environment. However, aspects of the NITA bill are not private sector-friendly, start-up-friendly or innovation-friendly. If the vision to position Ghana as a leading AI hub is to be achieved, aspects of the NITA bill will need to be looked at again,” he said.

President Mahama launched Ghana’s National AI Strategy in April, describing it as a commitment to ensuring the country becomes an active developer, regulator and deployer of artificial intelligence technologies.

The strategy targets a GH¢5 billion National AI Fund between 2025 and 2030, rising to GH¢15 billion from 2030 to 2035, while seeking to attract GH¢200 billion in private-sector investment into the AI ecosystem by 2035.

The NITA bill has generated significant debate within the technology sector, with critics raising concerns over proposed certification requirements for technology professionals, revenue-based levies and ownership provisions that could restrict foreign participation in the sector.

Government has, however, sought to allay fears over the proposed legislation. Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations Samuel Nartey George recently clarified that drafts circulating online were preliminary working documents and that current discussions are focused largely on ICT professionals within government institutions and operators of critical national infrastructure.

Beyond digital policy, Mr. Effah used the summit to advocate a more structured partnership between government and the private sector to drive economic transformation following Ghana’s return to macroeconomic stability.

“Stability has been restored. It is now time for transformation. Stability creates the conditions for progress, but it does not guarantee progress,” he said.

He argued that the CEO-Government Compact launched at the summit should be established through an Act of Parliament supported by both major political parties to ensure continuity beyond electoral cycles.

According to him, the proposed framework should comprise a National Economic Transformation Council chaired by the President and supported by a professionally managed transformation delivery unit responsible for coordinating sector-specific programmes in agribusiness, technology and digitalisation, manufacturing, energy, infrastructure and finance.

Mr. Effah said the delivery unit should be established by statute, led by a chief executive with a fixed tenure, provided with protected funding and required to publish annual public performance scorecards.

“No compact can succeed if it is built only for the present administration. It must be designed to endure,” he said.

Drawing parallels with development institutions in Singapore and Rwanda, he stressed that durable economic transformation depends on institutions whose legal and operational foundations are insulated from political change.

He further proposed mobilising approximately US$25 billion in investment into priority sectors over the next five years, explaining that such a scale of investment is necessary to create jobs, accelerate industrialisation and sustain economic growth of between seven and 10 percent annually.

The banker also called for reforms to channel more domestic savings into productive sectors of the economy, noting that pension and insurance funds have historically been concentrated in government securities rather than private-sector investment.

“If we are to create jobs at the scale this moment demands, then it cannot be business as usual. The compact must prioritise job creation, technical and vocational education, digital skills development, entrepreneurship training and stronger industry-academia partnerships delivered at scale,” he said.

President Mahama, who officially launched the compact, indicated that further consultations with business leaders would follow after a review of its proposals by the