We will join the Chiefs in the implementation of the RTI Act – The Minister of Information

The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, responsible for the implementation of the Right to Information Act (RTI), says that the most crucial aspect of the law is its implementation and therefore called for the collaboration of all stakeholders to: succeed in this endeavor.

The minister made the remark at a workshop in Accra on Thursday, May 30, 2019, on the roadmap for the implementation of the RTI law recently pbaded by Parliament and sanctioned by the president.

According to the Minister, after a very long tortuous process of almost two decades after the adoption of the law, which has now come to give substance to the provision on the ITRs already included in Article 21 ( 1) f) of the 1992 Constitution, It is time to approach the next phase with much more seriousness and concentration.

The roadmap workshop for the implementation of RTI brought together representatives of civil society organizations, the RTI coalition, the RTI media coalition, and UNESCO. and members of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, to discuss strategies to ensure the smooth operation of the law in force at the beginning of the next fiscal year in January 2020.

Some of the issues that have been addressed have been the need for the Government to provide logistical and financial support to the Department of Public Records Administration (PRAAD) because of its important role in law enforcement. RTI.

Identifying a sustainable source of funding to cover the costs of implementation, to ensure that the Information Commissioner and his staff are not compromised by the appointing authorities, among others, was under discussion.

The bill was pbaded by Parliament in March and approved by the President in May 2019, but its implementation was suspended until 2020 to allow time for the establishment of appropriate structures.

The law must provide for the implementation of the constitutional right to information held by a public institution, subject to the necessary exemptions compatible with the protection of the public interest in a democratic society.

It also aims to promote a culture of transparency and accountability in public affairs and to resolve related issues.