The Right to Information (RTI) law has witnessed some progress via various trainings and commitment to activities being completed at several levels in Ministries, Departments and Agencies across the country.
According to Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Information Minister designate provision of updates on the Right to Information (RTI) since its passage into law in March 2019, he revealed that, 455 out of 526 RTI officers have been trained to occupy Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as part of a continuous effort to equip officers to make the implementation of the RTI successful and to ensure efficient compliance of the law by public institutions.
The Ofoase Ayirebi legislator also stressed that, the training of the RTI officers was done in a bid to educate them on the RTI Act 989 in order to equip them on the legalities of the law and how they are to operate within the framers of the law.
“Specifically on RTI, the law assented to in 2019 took effect in 2020. We have done a number of things. First we have created the RTI division at the Information Ministry. We have trained and deployed RTI officers to Ministries, Departments and Agencies across the country as well as MMDAs and then independent constitutional bodies. We had a road map that record 26 different activities to execute for the implementation of RTI.
“Mr. Chairman, I am happy to inform the committee that currently about 18 of those activities have been completed, 5 are ongoing. In terms of training and work, for example Ministries, Departments and Agencies out of 526 officers that we need to train, we have trained 455 who are on the job today responding to RTI requests that are coming in”.
Additionally, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah stated that, out of 483 personnel across the districts in the country, a significant number of 483 have been trained by government so far. He further explained that, a number of requests for information have been received with the majority of them granted access
“Across the districts, out of 552 that we are supposed to train, we have trained 483, and they are working today. At the end of 2020, the RTI units across government have received 56 requests, have responded to all of them granting access to 44 of them, about 2 of them were transferred, 4 of them were referred, 1 application was withdrawn, 1 was denied and is now on application for review”.
Commenting on the reference to his colleague MP, MP John Jinapor as “papa no” in Parliament in August 2020, the Minister-designate for Information, disclosed he has apologized for that, further insisting that, his remark was said in jest and not meant to undermine the gravity of the ongoing debate on the floor of Parliament that day.
“Chairman as the leader will recall on that faithful evening, I voluntarily sent word to you that I would like to apologize and have it expunged from the record and you gave me leave so to do.
“As leader will recall right in the division room here, when he stepped out, I approached them and expressed again my apologies.”
