RTI COMMISSION SCHOOLS STAKEHOLDERS, SEEKS OPINIONS IN UPPER EAST 13TH NOV., 2023

 Authorities of the Right To Information [RTI] Commission have engaged varied stakeholders from across the Upper East Region for a day’s public lecture in Bolgatanga, regarding the Commission’s mandate and how the RTI law can be beneficial for nation building, if the citizenry takes advantage of the law.

The Upper East Region becomes the 15^th Region in the series of nationwide public fora geared at demystifying the Commission’s work as well soliciting inputs from the public and identifiable groups among other important objectives. The law primarily guarantees the general public access to information from public institutions and other relevant private entities.

Board Chairman of the RTI Commission, Justice Rtd. K.A Ofori-Atta in his opening remarks at the forum disclosed that, with the passage of ACT 989 in May 2019, Ghana has become the 134^th country in the world to have passed the RTI law. “The world over, the RTI laws have become a cardinal yardstick for achieving transparency in governance and public discourse”, the Chairman noted.

Justice Ofori-Atta further noted that, this class of laws are also a very important tool for fighting corruption and activating a spirited participation of the masses in governance. He described the RTI law as “a double edge sword that has the potency to create effective avenues for transparency and accountability, especially on the part of public office holders”. He said they equally enjoin members of the public to be open and just in their transactions with state institutions as far as the RTI is concerned. To him, it is the collective duty of all, including private individuals, staff of public institutions and the business community to ensure the effective implementation and success of the country’s RTI law.

RTI Board Chair [from L] & Members [front row]

The Executive Secretary to the Commission, Lawyer Yaw Sarpong Boateng who gave a presentation on the topic; “Your Right of Access to Information, the Role of the Commission and Public Institutions under the Act”, emphasized that there is no institution that is exempt from the RTI law but rather, just some classes of information. He cited these as a few of the exempt category of information; information for the President, the Vice President and Cabinet, information relating to international relations, information relating to law enforcement and public safety and disclosure of personal matters among others.

Executive Secretary of RTI Being Interviewed

Mr. Sarpong Boateng stated that, the Right To Information is a right that is guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and stressed that, “information is everything, information is life and until someone has the urgent need for information and doesn’t get it, that one will value the importance of access to information”. He added that, this right covers everyone who finds himself/herself in the jurisdiction of Ghana, irrespective of social class and any forms of affiliation.

The Secretary however cautioned that, the right to information comes with a responsibility for everyone that takes a move to enjoy its exercise such as, having to a token fee for the access of information, the mandatory waiting periods for applicants to receive responses and the penalties on the custodians of the information so required, should there be deliberate refusals to release information. Meanwhile in an interview later with the media at the climax of the forum, Mr. Sarpong observed that some public office holders or staff of state institutions with abundant negligence, cause their respective institutions to lose valuable taxpayers’ money on surcharges and warned that going forward, the Commission will be exacting some level of punishment on particular offenders of the law instead of laying the blame squarely on the entity.

Upper East Regional Minister, Hon. Stephen Yakubu speaking through a representative, the Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive Rex Asangah said, the RTI law has come to stay and urged the public to make regular use of the law. He wandered why it seems so difficult for some officers holding information on behalf of the public, to simply release that same information, when the public comes asking.

A Section of participants at the lecture

 

As the lecture later switched into the open forum segment, some participants questioned why it took so long for Parliament to pass the law while some officers also bemoaned about the undue pressure members of the public often put on them when seeking information; noting that some applicants can walk into an office afternoon of today and want the information delivered the following day. Others also called on the Commission to offer free trainings for the public on the processes involved in accessing information, to which the Executive Secretary responded saying, there cannot be a zero cost to any trainings by his outfit, but there can always be some compromises.