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The Right to Information Coalition, Ghana (RTI Coalition) has expressed disappointment at the compliance of some public institutions with the RTI Act.
According to them, “although some public institutions are denying access, citing excuses such as the lack of basic structures to help disseminate information; many other public institutions are completely ignoring requests for information, including very basic public information. “
They say that this stance taken by these public institutions contradicts the purpose for which the RTI Law was created.
His statement follows a demand by the National Communication Authority (NCA) to the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) to pay a GH ¢ 2,000 fee to access certain public information.
Under the provisions of the RTI Act, the information requested by MFWA should have been available without the need for a request.
The RTI Coalition has described the fee as “outrageous” and “unreasonable” and a violation of the right to access information.
The Coalition believes that “the exercise of a fundamental human right such as the Right to Information should not be expensive; otherwise, it is no longer a right ”.
They added that “public information is already paid by taxpayers and therefore charging applicants for the search for public information is equivalent to a double charge.”
What worries the Coalition is the “incorrect signal” that it sends to the public, since it “suggests that the RTI Law rather makes it difficult to obtain information rather than facilitate access to information, thus discouraging its use”.
Therefore, they called on the government to “take immediate practical measures to prevent such acts from happening again.”
He also pointed out a contradiction between the response received by the MFWA from the NCA and the affirmation of the Ministry of Information of having “provided public institutions with training on the importance and application of the RTI Law.”
In conclusion, they asked the government to “work with stakeholders, including the Coalition, to implement the revised RTI implementation roadmap to facilitate effective implementation of the RTI Law, which the government promotes as an important tool to curb corruption and promoting good governance in Ghana. flourishing democracy ”.
