There is a strong bond between the Info Ministry and RTI Commission – Oppong Nkrumah

Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has glorified the partnership between the Ministry and the Right to Information Commission (RTI Commission), describing it as a significant strides towards the smooth implementation of the RTI Act.

The Information Ministry was at the forefront of the long walk to the consideration of the RTI Bill spanning some 19-years till it was finally passed in 2019. Act 989 establishes a Governing Council responsible for the resolution of disputes that might arise in the information seeking process.

The Council has since been inaugurated by President Nana Akufo-Addo and this Oppong Nkrumah says is one of the strong moves towards making the RTI Law functional. He said it epitomizes the current Government’s commitment to deepening citizens’ participation in governance.

As part of activities to commemorate this year’s International Day for the Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), the RTI Commission put together a public forum with Oppong Nkrumah as the guest speaker. It was at this event that he disclosed that his ministry has established a new division to ensure the smooth implementation of the Act.

“So far, information units have been set up in 539 public institutions across Ghana. To prepare public institutions to deliver on their obligations under Act 989, the Ministry of Information established and commissioned the access to Information division within the Information Services Department (ISD) on the 17th of July, 2020,” he revealed.

The division is responsible for training and deploying Access to Information (ATI) Officers to Ministries, Departments and Agencies to facilitate access to information requests of respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs); and also to provide technical support to the RTI Officers on their day to day activities.

According to him, so far, the division has trained a total of 1,055 officers who have been tasked with the responsibility of facilitating and processing access to information requests for the various MDAs. These Officers include 478 designated ATI Officers, 478 Records Officers, and 99 newly recruited information Officers.

He said the Ministry through the Information Services Department has also developed an online records management system to provide IT led solution which will help to manage online applications under the RTI Act 2019. The online platform is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year 2021.

Executive Secretary of the RTI Commission, Yaw Sarpong Boateng, noted in his remarks that  that the week long-celebration is aimed at promoting access to information and creating public awareness of the Right to Information Act, 2019.

He noted that the functions of the Commission as required under the Law have so far been effectively discharged including the consideration of some review applications since its establishment.

“The Commission issued a directive to all public institutions to submit reports on their compliance with Act 989 in terms of appointment of information officers and records of applications for information received and granted or otherwise. About 43 public institutions complied. From next year the Commission is poised to ensure better compliance with this obligation under the Act,” he said.

In compliance with section 64(3) and 77(4) of the Right to Information Act, the Ministry of Information successfully laid before Parliament the maiden annual report of the activities of public institutions and the Commission in respect of 2020.

In the absence of a standardized Fees and Charges law on cost of an RTI application, Oppong Nkrumah noted that a proposal on that has been submitted to the Ministry of Finance for submission to parliament.