The Member of Parliament fort Ofoase-Ayirebi and Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has presented to Parliament the 2022 report on the performance of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The presentation, which was in accordance with section 77(4) of Act 989 of the 1992 Constitution, shed light on the significant strides made in the previous year, revealing notable initiatives and achievements, including the grafting of prosecutorial powers by the Attorney General.
Speaking to his colleagues in the chamber of the House, last week Friday, Mr Oppong Nkrumah underscored the pivotal role of the Access to Information (ATI) Division of the Information Services Department (ISD) and the RTI Commission in driving forward the implementation of the RTI Act.
“We have made significant strides in enhancing the implementation of the RTI Act,” the Minister stated, adding “the ATI Division of the ISD has embarked on five major tasks in the year gone by. Significant among these tasks are the recruitment and deployment of Information Officers, and the support to information units.”
He highlighted the inclusion of RTI compliance as Key Performance Indicators in the Chief Director’s Performance Agreement, underlining the government’s commitment to ensuring accountability and transparency across public institutions.
Speaking about the RTI Commission’s achievements, the Minister revealed that the regulatory body had secured prosecutorial authority from the Attorney General to go after individuals and institutions who flout the RTI Act.
He commended the Commission for conducting compliance surveys, determining review applications and securing additional logistics to enhance its operations.
“Mr. Speaker, in terms of the work that the regulator has done, the RTI Commission has done in the year gone by, the regulator has secured the prosecutorial mandate from the Attorney General of the Republic, has also conducted compliance surveys, determined review applications that have come before it, secured additional logistics for its operations, promoted the Right to Information Act and its infrastructure and issued guidelines for the compilation and publication of information units,” he emphasised.
The Minister provided valuable statistics regarding the number of information requests received by various public institutions in the year under review.
Out of an expected 683 institutions, 382 submitted annual reports to the RTI Commission, with 55% compliance.
These institutions, he said, received a total of 783 applications of which 669 were approved, rejected, transferred or deferred in accordance with the provisions of the RTI Act.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah unveiled the plans for the coming year. The ATI Division he said, aims to operationalise the Online Records Management System, streamlining the process for applying and receiving requests online. He also pledged to present the legislative instrument for the RTI Act to Parliament before the year’s end.
With regards to the future plans of the RTI Commission, he said the regulator is seeking to establish field offices in Kumasi and Sunyani to bring services closer to the Ghanaian people, stating that the Commission will continue with it public sensitisation efforts, whereas it will intensify efforts to populate the outstanding 333 public institutions with Information Officers, subject to available finances.
