Accra, Ghana// – A Corruption Watch investigation has exposed the Ghana Police Service, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Parliamentary Service, Judicial Service of Ghana, Attorney-General’s Department, Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), and dozens of public and private institutions for attracting heavy fines of about GHS5.6m due to failure to provide information requested by citizens under the Right to Information (RTI) law.
The investigation uncovered that the Ghana Police Service has paid GHS450,357, while the CHRAJ is yet to pay a fine of GHS30,000. Other key institutions that have violated the law are the Parliamentary Service, which has paid a fine of GHS53,785; the Judicial Service of Ghana, which is yet to pay a fine of GHS100,000; the Attorney-General’s Department, which owes a fine of GHS50,000; and the SSNIT, which has settled a fine of GHS200,000.
Meanwhile, the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has paid the heaviest fine of GHS1.365 million. Other heavy payments have been made by the Ministry of Education (GHS260,000), the Lands Commission (GHS150,000), and the Ghana Audit Service (GHS60,000), whereas the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) owes a fine of GHS100,000.
The investigation further discovered that state institutions have been using taxpayers’ funds to pay for fines imposed on them by the RTIC.
These details are contained in Corruption Watch Ghana’s latest investigative report titled “SAGA OVER RTI: Millions paid as penalty”, which it has released today, September 29, 2025.
The investigative piece revealed that some key governance institutions, which should promote access to information, are either refusing or failing to comply with the Right to Information (RTI) law by denying access to information requested by citizens.
This refusal or failure to provide the requested information has led to the imposition of fines by the RTI Commission (RTIC).
The investigative piece further revealed that the RTIC imposed the penalties in more than 70 determinations involving at least 60 separate institutions.
The Corruption Watch conducted the investigation over a six-month period from February to July 2025.
In terms of frequency, the Ministry of Education ranks highest with four penalties received, while the Ghana Police Service has received three penalties.
Ten other institutions have suffered two penalties each. They include the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Judicial Service, the Lands Commission, the PPA, the Ministry of Energy, and the Urban Roads Department.
The full documentary is available here: https://youtu.be/uUYb15BqjvM. while the text report is available here:: file:///Users/masahudu/Downloads/SAGA%20OVER%20RTI_ONLINE%20COPY%20(1).pdf
Instructively, Corruption Watch (CW) is an initiative of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) in collaboration with its partners Transparency International Ghana (formerly Ghana Integrity Initiative), Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA), and media platforms Joy FM and Adom FM. CW is sponsored by the European Union.