Accra, Ghana//-The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) Africa Office today joined civil society partners, state institutions, journalists, and citizens around the world to celebrate International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), 2025.
This year’s theme, ‘Ensuring Access to Environmental Information in the Digital Age’, is both timely and urgent.
In the face of climate change, environmental degradation, and growing public health threats, access to accurate, timely, and digitally available environmental information is not a luxury — it is essential for survival, justice, and accountability.
This is contained in a press release issued by the CHRI Africa Office based in Accra, Ghana.
“This need is especially pressing in Ghana, where illegal mining (“galamsey”) continues to destroy the environment at alarming levels.
As we mark this important day, we at the CHRI Africa Office reflect on Ghana’s progress since the passage of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2019 (Act 989), the challenges that remain, and the commitment needed to entrench a culture of transparency, openness, and integrity in governance.
Since taking effect in January 2020, the RTI law has become a powerful tool for citizens, journalists, civil society organisations, and oversight bodies to demand transparency and hold public institutions accountable. It has exposed institutional lapses, initiated public interest investigations, and enhanced accountability across state institutions.
Ghana has made significant strides on both the supply and demand sides of access to information. On the supply side, the government has established critical infrastructure, including a functioning and vibrant RTI Commission as the key oversight body, an RTI Division within the Information Services Department, RTI units in public institutions, trained Information Officers among others.
On the demand side, citizens and civil society have used the law to drive tangible change, for instance: · In Asante Akim Central, advocacy by the ABAK Foundation, supported by CHRI, used RTI requests to push for the opening of the Boatengkrom community school in 2023, which had remained unused for years.
Though completed in 2019 under the “1 Million per Constituency” initiative, the school remained vacant forcing children to walk over 10 kilometers daily through unsafe terrain to attend school in another town.
- In Techiman, Local Accountability Networks (LANETs) under the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition’s RTI-driven advocacy led to the rehabilitation and commissioning of the long-neglected Aworopataa health centre after more than a decade.
- At the national level, an RTI request by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) compelled the Presidency to publish the full KPMG audit report on the controversial revenue assurance contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML), a landmark step for transparency in public financial management.
Despite these gains, several obstacles continue to limit the RTI law’s full potential. These include: · The absence of a Legislative Instrument (L.I.) to operationalize the law.
- Low public awareness, especially in rural and underserved communities with limited access to digital platforms.
- Delays or refusals by some public institutions in responding to requests. · Inadequate funding and resourcing for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), hindering proactive disclosure and annual reporting. · A lingering culture of secrecy within the public sector that resists openness.
Within the framework of this year’s theme, these barriers are even more consequential, according to the press release.
Environmental data — including information on pollution, land use, mining operations, climate change mitigation, and related health impacts — is vital for public participation, policy advocacy, and community action.
“While Ghana has relevant legal frameworks such as RTI Act, environmental laws, open data policies and digital tools such as the carbon registry; significant gaps remain in implementation, data quality, accessibility for remote and underserved populations, awareness creation, and institutional capacity.
As we commemorate IDUAI 2025, CHRI Africa reaffirms its call for stronger commitments to transparency, proactive disclosure, and open access to environmental information in the digital age”.
Only by bridging these gaps can citizens effectively safeguard the environment, influence policy, and hold duty-bearers accountable, it added.
The CHRI therefore called on the government to expedite the processes needed to pass the Legislative Instrument (L.I.) to enhance the effective implementation of the RTI Act.
The NGO again called for provision of adequate funding to the RTI Commission to enhance operational effectiveness as well as invest in institutional capacity-building, including staff training, digital infrastructure, and logistics support to ensure proactive disclosure and timely and effective responses to RTI requests.
“We also call on the RTI Commission to · Collaborate with National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), CSOs and the Media to expand public education efforts, particularly in rural, marginalised and underserved communities, to raise awareness of citizens’ rights under the RTI Act. · Collaborate with civil society and media to track compliance, monitor systemic issues, and support accountability initiatives. · Continue enforcement actions especially by following up on institutions fined to ensure they release the information despite the penalty”.