A disturbing accountability gap has been exposed in the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2019 (Act 989), with a Corruption Watch investigation revealing that public institutions are systematically failing to comply and, crucially, are using taxpayers’ funds to settle fines imposed by the RTI Commission (RTIC).

The practice effectively shields the public officials individually responsible for willfully denying citizens access to information from any personal or professional consequence, thereby neutering the punitive intent of the law.

Fines paid by the public, not the culprits

The Corruption Watch probe highlighted that several key governance institutions, which are mandated to champion transparency, are either outright refusing or delaying the release of requested public information.

When these institutions are successfully challenged before the RTIC and subsequently fined, the penalty is absorbed by the state budget.

According to legal experts, this financial arrangement creates a loophole that undermines the deterrent effect of the RTI Act.

Private legal practitioner Zakaria Tanko Musah strongly condemned the practice, stating that the use of public funds defeats the purpose of holding officials accountable.

“…if you fine an institution, that money is not going to come from the person who willfully refused to provide you with the information, although he or she knows that the information is supposed to be provided,” Mr. Musah explained.

He emphasized that the current system imposes no real hardship on the individual decision-makers, noting: “The money is going to be paid by the institution, so they don't suffer any damage; they don't suffer any embarrassment, per se.”

Impunity threatens the integrity of the RTI law

The investigation suggests that the penalty provision in the RTI Act, designed to enforce compliance and promote transparency, is being rendered a mere administrative inconvenience for the state institution rather than a serious sanction for official misconduct.

The law's passage in 2019 was hailed as a major victory for democracy and the fight against corruption in Ghana, granting citizens a constitutional right to access information held by public institutions.

However, the emerging pattern of non-compliance and the use of public funds to cover penalties risk turning the RTI Act into a symbolic piece of legislation rather than a functional tool for accountability.

The phenomenon effectively allows the official who unlawfully withholds information to retain their position and salary while the Ghanaian public, the very group the information was denied to, involuntarily funds the fine through their taxes.

Call for surcharges and personal liability

Civil society organizations and governance experts are now calling for robust mechanisms to ensure individual culpability.

This includes requiring the RTIC or related state auditors to surcharge the fines directly to the salaries of the designated Information Officers or the heads of the institutions who are found to have deliberately obstructed the information flow.

Without this step, analysts warn that the culture of impunity will persist, ensuring that critical data on public contracts, spending, and decision-making remains locked away, thereby obstructing the ability of journalists, researchers, and citizens to demand transparency and hold power to account.