The Right to Information Commission (RTIC) will now be able to prosecute public officials who violate the Right to Information law.
This is because the commission has been given authority to prosecute offenses brought before it under Act 989 by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.
This was made public by Diana Asonaba Dapaah, Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, in her keynote speech at a public forum in Accra on September 28, 2022, to mark the end of RTI Week.
Our office has made a commitment to provide all necessary assistance for the RTI Commission's success and the operation of the Act. I am pleased to inform you that the Honourable Attorney-General has granted the Commission prosecutorial powers to enable it to prosecute violations of Act 989 in the spirit of cooperation and support.
IMG 1892 Diana Asonaba Dapaah, Minister for Justice and Deputy Attorney General, stated that the commission's staff had received training to prosecute cases.
"We have further advanced training the Commission staff to strengthen their capacities as prosecutors to successfully prosecute Act-related offenses."
Yaw Sarpong Boateng, Executive Secretary of the RTI Commission, mentioned that incorporating e-governance and artificial intelligence would improve the process of accessing information prior to the Deputy Minister's announcement.
He claims that as a result, the commission would be able to give everyone a chance to evaluate governance and advance democracy.
"We engage the public through our digital platforms in the hope that Ghanaians will have access to our services in an era when it is virtually impossible to have offices across regions and districts of Ghana," the company states.
The forum took place at the same time as the United Nations' annual International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), which celebrates information accessibility worldwide.
The forum this year was centered on: E-government, artificial intelligence, and information accessibility
The RTI Commission held a stakeholders' conference at its Dzorwulu office in Accra as part of RTI Week. During the conference, the RTI Commission emphasized that citizens' need for information from public institutions was a "non-negotiable."
Justice K.A. Ofori Atta, the Right to Information Commission's Board Chair, stated that, despite the Commission's efforts to educate the general public about the RTI law, many people were still unaware of it.
He stated, "The Commission believes the artificial intelligence system, when incorporated, will ensure that the public buys into the law and give individuals in the country's remote areas the opportunity to deliver requests for information online."
Mr. Yaw Sarpong acknowledged that, despite the many obstacles it faced, an artificial intelligence system would lessen the time and effort required to search for information and make it more accessible to public institutions.
Mr. Charles Abbani, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations, and Abdourahamane Diallo, the representative of UNESCO, both expressed optimism regarding the system and praised the RTI Commission for its work.
The Commission advised public institutions to familiarize themselves with the system, which is also accessible to people with disabilities, in order to simplify the process of accessing information.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and others were praised by the Right to Information Commission for their outstanding efforts to test the Right to Information Law and educate citizens about it.
Sampson Lardy Anyenini, a private attorney and host of the news show Newsfile on JoyNews, praised the MFWA, stating that the organization had been the largest user of the RTI law since its implementation in 2020.
Several cases involving applicants and public institutions that impede the process have been decided by the Commission. The Commission has ruled in favor of the applicants in the majority of review applications so far.
After going through the adjudication procedures, the projects The Fourth Estate and Fact-Check Ghana of the MFWA have won several of these cases.
