The deputy Attorney-General, Diana Asonaba Dapaah, has disclosed that the Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has granted prosecutorial powers to the Right to Information (RTI) Commission to enable it prosecute offences under Act 989.
The Act guarantees the General Public access to information from public institutions and relevant private bodies.
“The Attorney-General has granted prosecutorial powers to the RTI Commission to enable it to prosecute offences under Act 989. Our office has gone ahead to train staff of the Commission to build their capacities as prosecutors to successfully prosecute offences under the Act.”
The deputy Attorney- General made this known on behalf of the Attorney General yesterday, at the Commemoration of the Right to Information Week and the 2022 International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) under the theme: “Artificial Intelligence, E-Governance and Access to Information” yesterday, in Accra.
According to her, Ghana’s Right to Information Act 2019 (Act 989) shows that the lawmakers appreciated the importance of having citizens equipped with information and also to hold governments accountable, hence the robust forward-looking framework for Ghana’s access to information legislation which is in tune with international best practices.
The general lack of responsiveness of governmental institutions, she said, must be tackled, since for the implementation of the Act public institutions are mandated to designate an “Information Officer” who is to be responsible for the handling of requests for information.
“However, many public institutions are deficient in this role. Therefore, requests for information are unnecessarily delayed or worse, left unattended because there is no identified person responsible to deal with them. This ultimately impedes the work of users of that information such as journalists, individuals and civil society organizations” she disclosed.
This, she said it is important for agencies to establish information units or designate an employee tasked with ensuring the free flow of information to the public which ensures that the purpose of the Act is fulfilled.
The Executive Secretary of the RTI Commission, Yaw Sarpong Boateng Esq., in his address said the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) cannot be overlooked in modern technological times as it offers an opportunity for stakeholders of right to information to focus deliberations on a dominant technological affect of our everyday lives.
“It has become paramount for institutions to employ the services of the internet in its policy scheming and operational management. Al certainly has a role to play in service delivery and helping facilitate work,” he added.
He further reinstated that the government must drive this nation towards the universal access to affordable electricity and internet service, which is the backbone of the digitization and the digitalization drive.
The Executive Secretary continued that the Right to Information Commission, being the regulator of access to information, has considered these modern technological changes and veered towards a system of work arrangement where the internet is largely used.
