Country Observers (COMoG): A Governance Platform Built for Trust
Overview
Country Observers Mission on Governance (COMoG) is a Ghanaian think tank and NGO researching and advocating for policy reform across economic governance, anti-corruption, energy and climate policy, and social policy. Nerds IV built the platform it runs on.
The Challenge
COMoG's work means handling sensitive data — citizen governance reports, donor and member information — for an organization whose watchdog role makes it a plausible target for tampering or data exfiltration. The platform needed to support anonymous public reporting, donations, and membership dues, all under Ghana's Data Protection Act 2012 (Act 843), while giving staff only the access their specific role requires.
The Solution
- •Anonymous-friendly governance report submission with rate limiting and hashed IP tracking, so people can report issues without exposing their identity
- •A hash-chained audit log covering logins, report status changes, and donor-list access, so tampering is detectable after the fact rather than invisible
- •Role-based staff access (Super Admin, Content Editor, Report Reviewer, Donor & Finance Manager) so each role sees only what it needs
- •A Data Subject Request workflow built around Act 843's access, correction, erasure, and objection rights, with a 30-day response window enforced automatically
- •Donation and recurring membership-dues payments via Paystack
Technologies
Where It Stands
Live at countryobservers.org, built in phases with security and Act 843 compliance treated as first-class requirements throughout rather than added after the fact.