The Right to Information Commission (RTIC) has officially launched its 5th Anniversary and RTI Month celebration, marking five years of promoting access to information and fostering transparency across Ghana. In a series of addresses at the Commission’s National Headquarters in Accra, leadership of the RTIC highlighted past achievements, ongoing challenges, and a bold vision for the future.
Five Years of Progress
In her opening remarks at the press launch, Mrs. Elizabeth Asare, Deputy Board Chairperson of the RTIC, reflected on the Commission’s journey since its establishment on October 19, 2020, under Act 989.
“It seems like yesterday when this Commission was inaugurated. It has not been all smooth sailing, but we’ve come far. The Right to Information Act has come to stay,” she stated.
Mrs. Asare underscored the Commission’s nationwide outreach efforts, noting that RTIC has established regional offices in Ashanti, Bono, and Upper East, with three more regions—Central, Volta, and others—expected to follow before the end of the year. Despite financial constraints, the Commission is working on a zoning strategy to ensure accessibility to information across the country.
She further emphasized the growing transparency and accountability in public institutions, attributing it to the enforcement of the RTI Act, and called on the media and public to continue utilizing the law to demand information for national development.
“The information is ours—it is our tax money that creates the information. We should be able to get what we want to do the work we do,” she said.
Celebrating with a Purpose
Delivering the official press statement, Ms. Genevieve Shirley Lartey, Esq., Executive Secretary of the RTIC, described the fifth anniversary as a moment of both celebration and recommitment.
“Since our establishment, we have worked diligently to promote and enforce the constitutional right of access to information. This year’s celebration, under the theme ‘RTI at Five: Championing Transparency and Accountability through Access to Environmental Information in a Digital Era’, reflects our evolving mission,” she said.
She announced a robust line-up of media engagements, civic education programs, a stakeholder conference, capacity-building activities, and a Thanksgiving service as part of the RTI Month celebrations. These activities will lead up to the global observance of the United Nations International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI).
Lartey also highlighted the growing importance of environmental governance and digital access, affirming the RTIC’s commitment to ensure environmental data is made readily available and understandable for all citizens.
A Forward-Looking Vision
In closing, Board Member Nana Kwame Duah emphasized the RTIC’s future direction, especially its focus on environmental transparency and digital inclusion.
“The adoption of environmental information as a new focus signals a forward-looking direction—one that protects lives and supports sustainable development,” he remarked.
He reaffirmed the Commission’s dedication to building a transparent Ghana and thanked key partners including government, Parliament, the judiciary, civil society, academia, and the media for their continued support.
“With their partnership, the next five years will see even stronger collaboration and deeper trust in our democracy.”
Public Engagement Encouraged
The RTIC invites all Ghanaians—citizens, civil society, public institutions, and the media—to join in commemorating its fifth anniversary and to continue championing the right to information as a tool for inclusion, accountability, and national development.
Story by Eugene Kwasi Nyarko
