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Fourteen public institutions have been slapped with a total of GH¢1,310,000 penalty for refusing to comply with the Right to Information (RTI) Commission’s orders to grant applicants access to information requested.
The institutions formed part of 26 review applications determined by the Commission since its operationalisation in 2020.
The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who disclosed this when he took his turn at the Meet-the-Press series in Accra yesterday, cited limited cooperation from public institutions as one of the challenges affecting the implementation of the RTI Law which depicts the number of compliance exercises conducted by the Commission.
The press briefing was to highlight the success stories, challenges and the way forward for the RTI Commission while offering journalists the opportunity to ask questions about the implementation of the RTI Law.
The RTI Act 989 was passed by Parliament on May 21, 2019.
The Right to Information is enshrined in the 1992 Constitution under Article 21 (1) (f).
The act is a guarantor for the public to access information from public institutions and relevant private agencies.
It further makes it easier for the public to enjoy the benefits that come with the right to access information, as provided by the 1992 Constitution.
Although the RTI Act provides for the right of access to information from public agencies, some classes of information are, by legal tenets, withheld from the public.
Some classified information on the Presidency, Cabinet, law enforcement, public safety, among others, may be exempted from public exposure.
Institutions
Some of the institutions that have been fined include the Lands Commission, Keta Municipal Assembly and Ghana Oil PLC (GOIL).
Also penalised are Ghana Cocoa Board, Ministry of Education and the Ghana Police Service, among others.
Source: myghanadaily
