⁠Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Anyimadu Antwi, has announced plans for a nationwide tour of district assembly offices in a bid to improve the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, he noted that there is a need to address logistical challenges, including office accommodation, hindering the operations of the RTI Commission.

As such the Legal Affairs Committee's tour to the various district assemblies, will help see “how best the Right to Information Commission could be accommodated within the district assemblies, because they have problems with office accommodation,” Mr Antwi said.

“At the moment, because the (Legal Affairs) committee oversees the RTI Commission, there are, for instance, some monies that are being paid on rent alone in Accra is a lot of money, he added.

The Legal Affairs Committee Chairman said that they are looking to ease the financial burden of the RTI Commission with this initiative.

Mr Antwi added that the committee following the tour will submit a report to parliament to address the next step.

Additionally, he believes that this nationwide tour would help facilitate smoother access to RTI Commission offices, thus enhancing education and public engagement on citizens' right to information. 

It has been five years since the passing of the Right To Information Act 989.

The Act promotes transparency and accountability by empowering people to access information on central and local governments as well as non-governmental organisations, which are publicly funded.

The RTI Commission was established to implement the RTI law and also resolve cases between citizens and public institutions when the need arises.

Meanwhile, Mr Antwi believes that the implantation of the RTI Act 989 has been a commendable one.

“The RTI commission has been very vigilant in meeting institutions and putting institutions on their toes. I had an opportunity to discuss with the Chief Executive that sometimes when you start something like this, you need to warm people, people are getting used to it,” he said.