Culture of secrecy frustrating RTI Law –KON

The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has bemoaned that the institutional culture of silence and secrecy are some of the challenges facing the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Law.

The Minister was speaking at a public forum in Accra yesterday,on the implementation of the RTI Act 2019-2023, under the theme: “Three years of the Right To Information Implementation-Ghana’s journey so far”.

According to the minister, the behavioural change challenge affects public institutions’ full embrace of the law, as they are used to working within a culture of secrecy.

The RTI law, he emphasised, is vital in providing legal background for individuals and journalists to exercise their right to access information.

“However, challenges include ignorance of the law, and deliberate refusal by public agencies to provide information they feel might incriminate them or expose a rotten system”, he added.

He, however, acknowledged resource constraints as the biggest challenge facing the implementation of the Law.

Delay in the passage of a Legislative Instrument (L.I), the minister said, was also another challenge and that it was a crucial accompaniment to the Act, providing details about the nuances of the Act and facilitating its implementation.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah disclosed that without the L.I., certain aspects of the law can be difficult to implement and absence of the L.I. can lead to challenges, such as the ambiguity in the law regarding the number of days for processing an initial information request.

Moreover, he reiterated that the public records management across state institutions has become a challenge in the implementation of the RTI law and that is why his outfit had put in place measures to address the issue by using technology, with the development of an Online Records Management Systems.

These challenges were as a result of research, which was commissioned by the Ministry of Information in the last quarter of 2022, to document the processes leading to the passage, implementation and enforcement of the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2019 (Act 989) in Ghana.

The study examined the operational strategies adopted for the smooth implementation of the RTI Law, identified the major roles of civil society organisations and other stakeholders in the implementation process of the law.

The minister revealed that the research recommended the immediate passage of the Legislative Instrument (L.I) to regulate the implementation of the RTI law in Ghana.

“The L.I. should detail the specifics of the Act, making it easier to implement. It should clarify areas like whether weekends are counted in the 14-day period and clarify the calculation of weekdays. The operationalisation of the RTI law commenced over three years ago”, he emphasised.

Additionally, he stated that the passage of the Right to Information law is commendable, but insufficient if not effectively implemented, as it requires commitment from politicians, government officials, support from political administrations, timely budget allocations and serious treatment of decisions by public institutions.

According to him, the research “Strongly recommended that budgetary allocations be made available on time to the RTI Commission so that it can carry out its duties without financial constraints.

Finally, public institutions to which the RTI Commission’s decisions are directed should treat them seriously and comply fully.Otherwise, they should be found in contempt and individuals in those institutions held liable for disregard of the Commission’s authority.”

The research, according to the minister, again recommended that to ensure the effective implementation of the RTI Act, the RTI Commission and the Ministry of Information should continue to involve key stakeholders, particularly CSOs, as they may play important roles in influencing people to use the law.

“Our commitment to the Right to Information must be unwavering and our resolve to address challenges resolute. The data and narratives presented today are not just reflections of the past; they are blueprints for a future where transparency is not a goal, but a way of life,” the minister assured.

He reminded the gathering that the Right to Information Act is not merely a legal text and that  it is a promise to the people, a covenant that binds the government and its citizens in the pursuit of a more accountable and transparent society.

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