RTI: Guidelines for preparation of information manuals by public institutions issued
The Ministry for Information in consultation with the Right To Information Commission have issued guidelines for the preparation of information manuals by public institutions.
The issuance of the guidelines is pursuant to Section 3 of the Right To Information Act 2019 (Act 989).
Per the Act, all public institutions in the country in complying with the guidelines, are required to prepare and keep an up-to-date information manual.
The guidelines as noted in the information manual issued by the Information Ministry include;
- An information manual shall contain list of various classes or categories of information which are prepared by, or under the control or custody of the institution.
- An information manual shall contain a list of an institution’s exempt information. Such exempt information shall necessarily fall within the range of exempt information provided under Act 989 from sections 5-16.
- An information manual shall contain a list of the types of information that may be accessed or inspected free of charge.
- In accordance with Section 75(2) of Act 989, the following classes of information shall not attract a fee or charge
i. The reproduction of personal information of the applicant
ii. The reproduction of personal information of a person on whose behalf an application is made
iii. The reproduction of information which is in the public interest
iv. Information of a person with disability, among others.
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RTI Act
The RTI is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the country’s 1992 Constitution and recognized as a right under International Conventions on Human rights.
It was first drafted in 1999 under former President, Jerry John Rawlings.
Various advocacy groups emerged to press for the immediate passing of the bill into law in 2002 and reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in its 2008 and 2012 election manifestos promised to ensure the Bill was passed. In 2010, it was presented to Parliament for consideration.
Following the dissolution of the Sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic and the swearing-in of new Parliament in January 2017, the Bill had to be re-laid by the new government and was eventually passed in 2019.
Cost of implementation
The implementation of the RTI in Ghana has been estimated to cost GHS 750 million over five years, according to a report by the Research Department of Parliament in 2017.
The breakdown of costs included funds for boards, administrative expenses, district administrative expenses, district office facilities and a head office.
For example, the administrative staff cost at the head office in the first year was marked at GHS 651,968.22.
For all the districts, the staff cost is pegged at GHS 91 million. These figures reduce year to year from 2018 to 2021.
