A lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism and private legal practitioner, Zakaria Tanko Musah, has called on journalists to make effective use of the Right to Information (RTI) Law in their work. He emphasized that the law provides journalists with a strong legal framework to access public information and enhance investigative reporting.
Addressing participants at a training workshop for selected journalists on the use of the RTI Law in investigative reporting, held at the Coconut Grove Hotel in Accra, Mr. Musah underscored that every public institution in Ghana is required to have an information officer. However, he observed that some institutions often claim they lack such officers as a strategy to frustrate information requests.
“One of the strategies they use is to claim they don’t have an information officer when you write to them. But that’s not an excuse,” he said.
He urged journalists not to fall for such tactics, stressing that requesters should leave their contact information with whoever is available at the institution to facilitate the process. “When you are requesting information, don’t play into their hands. Leave your contact details with whoever is available, even if they say there’s no information officer,” he advised.
Mr. Musah explained that under the RTI Law, information officers are mandated to assist applicants in obtaining the information they seek, including helping those who may be unable to read or write to make their requests properly. “The RTI Law states that officers are supposed to assist people to access the information they are requesting. If the person cannot read or write, they can call you on the phone, and you must write down their request and get them to sign the document,” he explained.
He also noted that institutions are required to seek clarification when a request is unclear, highlighting the responsibility of public officers to assist applicants rather than reject their requests. Mr. Musah encouraged journalists to challenge unreasonable interpretations of the law by public officials and to continue pushing for transparency and accountability.
The legal practitioner outlined practical guidelines for making effective information requests. He advised journalists to be specific and clear in their requests, anticipate possible exemptions, indicate their readiness to pay any applicable fees, and request electronic copies of documents whenever possible. Other important steps, he said, include asking for access to the appropriate files, keeping records of correspondence, preparing for possible appeals, and turning refusals or delays into news stories.
The training session was part of a capacity-building series aimed at strengthening journalists’ knowledge and use of the Right to Information Law in investigative and anti-corruption reporting.
The initiative, led by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and funded by the German Development Cooperation, forms part of the Participation, Accountability, Integrity for a Resilient Democracy (PAIReD) program. The program is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), co-financed by the European Union and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and implemented by GIZ in collaboration with Ghana’s Ministry of Finance.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1 MHz|Gifty Eyram Kudiabor|Bolgatanga
