Almost every form, sheet and app you build will hold personal data: names, phone numbers, locations, ages, sometimes health or income details. Mishandling it can embarrass a client, hurt the people whose data it is, and break the law. Being known as someone who handles data carefully is a real advantage, especially for NGO and research work.
Ghana's law in plain terms
Ghana's Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) sets rules for collecting and using personal data, and the Data Protection Commission oversees it. The Commission's website lists eight principles:
- Accountability: the organisation can show it follows the law.
- Lawfulness of processing: there are proper grounds for using the data, used fairly.
- Specification of purpose: data is collected for a clear, specific purpose.
- Quality of information: data is kept accurate and up to date.
- Purpose of collection: later uses of the data fit the purpose it was collected for.
- Openness: people are told what happens to their data.
- Data security safeguards: suitable technical and organisational protection.