Criminal Penalties Deter Innovation Challenges

This provision imposes criminal imprisonment of 6 months to 2 years for "obstructing" an inspector, without defining what constitutes obstruction. For digital innovators and startups, this creates severe risk: questioning an inspector's authority over novel technologies, requesting clarification of ambiguous requirements, or refusing requests that exceed inspector powers could theoretically constitute "obstruction" leading to criminal prosecution. This disproportionate criminalization of regulatory disputes—far exceeding international norms where such matters warrant administrative penalties—will deter entrepreneurs from asserting legitimate rights and chill innovation in Ghana's ICT sector, particularly harming resource-constrained startups who cannot afford legal defense against ambiguous criminal charges.