{"id":117872,"date":"2026-05-13T09:33:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T09:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=117872"},"modified":"2026-05-13T09:33:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T09:33:01","slug":"rti-commission-urges-institutions-to-embrace-transparency-instead-of-resisting-information-requests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=117872","title":{"rendered":"RTI Commission urges institutions to embrace transparency instead of resisting information requests"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>1 Minute, 27 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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The Right to Information (RTI) Commission has raised concerns over what it describes as growing resistance by institutions to comply with Ghana\u2019s transparency laws.<\/p>\n

Head of Legal at the Commission, Stephen Owusu, said even organisations traditionally recognised as public institutions sometimes resist requests for information using technical and legal arguments.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Joy FM\u2019s Super Morning Show, Mr Owusu urged institutions to embrace transparency and accountability instead of treating information requests as threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is interesting the level of resistance we get when we try to apply the law,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

According to him, there is a misconception that institutions are required to disclose every piece of information once an RTI request is submitted.<\/p>\n

He explained, however, that the Right to Information Act clearly outlines categories of exempt information that cannot be disclosed to the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not as if when somebody comes to ask for information, then that information should automatically be given,\u201d he clarified.<\/p>\n

Mr Owusu noted that Ghana\u2019s exemptions under the RTI law are already broad compared to some other jurisdictions.<\/p>\n

He cited personal information protections under Section 16 of the Act as an example of safeguards that prevent abuse of the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the information turns out to be personal information, Section 16 says it is exempt. It cannot be given,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

The RTI Commission official argued that concerns from some institutions are therefore misplaced since the law balances transparency with privacy and national interest protections.<\/p>\n

Ghana\u2019s Right to Information Act was passed in 2019 following years of pressure from civil society organisations and governance advocates.<\/p>\n

The law is regarded as a major tool for promoting accountability, fighting corruption, and strengthening democratic governance by allowing citizens to request information from public institutions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Right to Information (RTI) Commission has raised concerns over what it describes as growing resistance by institutions to comply with Ghana\u2019s transparency laws.<\/p>\n

Head of Legal at the Commission, Stephen Owusu, said even organisations traditionally recognised as public institutions sometimes resist requests for information using technical and legal arguments.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17833,1883,10,9,11060,17834],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-information-requests","category-national","category-politics","category-popular","category-rti-commission","category-transparency"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=117872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117872\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=117872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=117872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=117872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}