Chairperson of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Prof Audrey Gadzekpo says government needs to do more to improve access to information.

According to her, although there are laws to ensure that citizens get public information, it is sometimes cumbersome.

“Despite the fact that we have an act now it’s still not easy to get public information we need to continue to press for information,” she said.

Speaking on a yet-to-be-aired JoyNews PM Personality Profile, she explained that every citizen needs information to effectively contribute their quota towards national development.

“I think to remind people that the right to information is fundamental for us as citizens living in a democracy because without information, how do you become a citizen and not a spectator,” she added.

The former Dean of the University of Ghana’s School of Information and Communication Studies noted that although the country has progressed from an era of media oppression, more needs to be done to better the distribution of information.

Touching on the Right to Information Act, she mentioned that the act can be accessed by every citizen.

Thus encourage citizens to walk to any government institution to request for any information.

“It’s important the RTI act is not just for journalist but for anybody. Anybody as a citizen should be able to say that what is the Assemble doing, how much money was voted for these projects, what are the overrun and be able to get it [ information],” she told host, Aisha Ibrahim on Friday.

The Communications Professor noted that although this should be the norm, many Assemblies were not oriented to give out information.

“A lot of Assemblies are not used to been asked to review information, the Presidency is not used to been asked to review information. Even parliament that passed the bill into an act will be reluctant to share certain type of information,” she added.

The full episode airs at 9PM on Friday, January 27, 2023.