Over 1,000 RTI Requests Made Since 2019 - Oppong Nkrumah

The Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has disclosed that over 1,000 Right to Information (RTI) requests have been made since the passage of the law in 2019.

Speaking at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday (10 May), Nkrumah said there has been a significant increase in the number of requests for access to information over the past three years since the implementation of the RTI act.

Out of the total number of requests, 838 have been granted, 47 have been rejected with 45 of them transferred, he said.

Nkrumah said rejected requests have remained low due to the technical support provided by the Access to Information Division (ATID) to public institutions.

“ATID provides the technical support to public institutions to enable them to fulfill their obligations in granting access to information. When institutions take advantage of this, they avoid any compliant issues,” Nkrumah said.

He also said that the RTI Commission (RTIC) has been granted prosecutorial powers by the attorney general’s office to prosecute offenders. He encouraged citizens to make use of the RTI Act, as it will further strengthen democracy in Ghana.

“The effective usage of the RTI Act will further strengthen our democracy, so we encourage all to play their part,” he said.