RTI Commission Slaps State and Private Institutions With GHS 5.6m in Fines Over Information Breaches
Several high-profile state and private institutions, including the Ghana Police Service, Parliament, the Judiciary, and the Attorney-General’s Department, have been fined heavily for breaching Ghana’s Right to Information (RTI) law, according to a new investigative report by Corruption Watch Ghana.
The report, released on Monday, September 29, reveals that the RTI Commission (RTIC) has imposed a total of GHS 5.6 million in penalties on more than 60 institutions for either refusing or failing to release information requested by citizens.
The Ghana Police Service has already settled GHS 450,357 in fines, while Parliament has paid GH₵53,785. The Judicial Service and the Attorney-General’s Department still owe GHS 100,000 and GHS 50,000 respectively, with CHRAJ also in arrears of GHS 30,000. SSNIT has settled GHS 200,000.
Outside governance bodies, the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) attracted the largest single penalty, paying GHS 1.365 million. Other significant fines include GHS 260,000 paid by the Ministry of Education, GHS 150,000 by the Lands Commission, and GHS 60,000 by the Ghana Audit Service. The Public Procurement Authority (PPA) still owes GHS 100,000.
Corruption Watch’s findings further highlight that taxpayers’ money is being used to settle the penalties, with the Ministry of Education leading in frequency of violations, fined four times, followed by the Police Service with three. Ten other institutions including the Ghana Education Service (GES), Judicial Service, Lands Commission, PPA, Ministry of Energy, and Department of Urban Roads have each faced two fines.
“Some key governance institutions, which should promote access to information, are either refusing or failing to comply with the RTI law by denying access to information requested by citizens,” the report noted.
The six-month investigation, carried out between February and July 2025, was conducted by Corruption Watch Ghana, an initiative of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), in collaboration with Transparency International Ghana, the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, and the Africa Center for International Law and Accountability.
