Stakeholders Deliberate on Data Protection Bill

The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology recently held a two-day validation workshop for the draft Data Protection Bill, providing stakeholders with an opportunity to make final contributions before it is tabled in parliament.

Last year, the ministry called on stakeholders and members of the public to provide input on the draft Bill through social media platforms. Once the Bill is gazetted, it will become Namibia's official data protection law.



Protections

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, the ministry’s director of ICT development, Linda Aipinge, said that the Bill aims to protect the individual's fundamental rights and freedoms as well as privacy.

She said that the ministry would consider several issues raised by the public and stakeholders during regional consultations, adding that the workshop was aimed at verifying the information received.

“I want to urge you to work together and find common ground to improve the Bill. Let us not attack individually. Remember, it is about important issues at hand. Also, keep in mind the international best practices that Namibia needs to adopt.”

The draft Bill is divided into eight sections that will highlight, among others, the obligations of controllers and processors, codes of conduct, and trans-border flows of personal data.



Mandates

Furthermore, the Bill highlights the obligations of controllers and processors in terms of how they handle information placed in their care, Aipinge said.

Processors are defined as a “public or private body or any other person which, alone or in conjunction with others, determines the purpose of, and means for, processing personal information.”

Controllers are defined as natural or legal persons or public bodies that, alone or jointly with others, have decision-making powers determining the purposes and means of the processing of personal data.



AI measures

When asked how the ministry has advanced with AI policies and measures, Shoki Kandjimi, the ministry’s Senior Public Relations Officer and Spokesperson said they do not have a policy yet. However, the Ministry of Higher Education organised a Southern Africa Sub Regional Forum on Artificial Intelligence in September last year.

“We are busy developing a Data Protection Bill as well as a Cybercrime Bill to protect everyone’s personal information. While a substantive strategy on Al is not in place yet, the ministry has its focus on exploring the Al policy and trends landscape, Al governance and standards, capacity building for Al development and application, the principle of inclusion and equality in the development and use of Al, and strategic partnerships for Al in the Southern Africa region and, by extension, the world at large,” he said.