Public institutions have been urged to ensure timely release of information upon request.
“You have the right to release information and you should have an information officer to facilitate information access,” Yaw Sarpong Boateng, Executive Secretary of the Right To Information Commission (RTIC), said.
“You should have an information manual to serve as a guide and it should be renewed and updated yearly,” he added.
Mr. Boateng was speaking at a public forum on Right To Information (RTI), the role of the RTIC and public institutions in Takoradi.
The event was attended by individuals, organisations, market women, and students from some selected Senior High Schools within the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, School for the DEAF, government institutions and security agencies, among others.
Participants were taken through the RTI Act and the processes involved in accessing information from public institutions.
Mr. Boateng explained that requests for information should be made in writing, describing the exact information, so it can easily be identified.
“Indicate the form and manner, as well as provide identity card, address as well as signature. Where the application cannot be made in writing, it should be done orally,” he explained.
“Within 14 days, information should be provided. In a situation where you need the information on time, you need to explain to the officer why it is urgent so it can be produced within 48 hours,” he added.
He said in situations where the information is not available, the applicant could be directed to another institution. He also encouraged public institutions to file their annual report yearly to the RTIC.
Justice K. A. Ofori Atta, Board Chairman of RTIC, said the Right To Information Act (RTI), Act 989 “hopes to improve rights and freedom of the citizenry in accessing information from public institutions.
“The basis of this law is that information held by public institutions is obtained and kept by those institutions; that is, by the officers working there. The officers are paid with the taxes we pay, so if we need any information from them, there should be no hindrance. All these are spelt out in the law.”
He clarified that the RTIC was established to act as a facilitator of the law on RTI: “You cannot just say anything anyhow and get away with it. If you need some information from a public institution, how do you go about it? A meaningful exercise of that right means you should be able to have access to information that you need to enable you to make informed decisions”.
“Knowledge is power, and we cannot develop our nation if we do not have knowledge. So, if we have an enlightened society, we can also make enlightened judgments depending upon the information that we have,” he added.
Justice Atta further described the RTI Act as welcome news and urged persons seeking public information not be deterred by the exemptions since the RTIC is committed to safeguard the fundamental rights of citizens.
