Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989)

The Right to Information Act 2019 (Act 989) is Ghana's access-to-information statute, enacted to give practical effect to the constitutional right to information guaranteed by Article 21(1)(f) of the 1992 Constitution. It was assented to on 21 May 2019, following roughly two decades of advocacy, and its institutions became operational from 2020. The Act is a core transparency and accountability instrument and, as public records are increasingly created and stored electronically, an important digital-rights enabler of the public's right to know. The Act gives every person a right to access information held by a public institution. An applicant need not give any reason for a request, and provision is made for oral requests, reduced into writing by an information officer, where a person is unable to make a written application due to illiteracy or disability. The right extends to certain private bodies, particularly those that are publicly funded or perform public functions, and it covers information held in electronic and digital form as well as paper records. Public institutions are required to designate information officers, to compile and publish manuals describing the information they hold and how to request it, and to assist applicants. Access is balanced against protected interests through a structured set of exemptions, including information relating to the Cabinet and its committees, national security and defence, international relations, law enforcement, the privacy of individuals, and commercial confidentiality. Several exemptions are qualified by public-interest considerations, and the Act prescribes timelines within which institutions must respond and a process for internal review and appeal. Institutionally, the Act establishes the Right to Information Commission, whose object is to promote, monitor, protect and enforce the right to information, to receive and determine complaints, and to support implementation across government. Decisions can ultimately be challenged in court. Operating alongside the Data Protection Act 2012 (Act 843), which protects personal data, the Right to Information Act forms the access-to-information half of Ghana's information-rights framework, balancing openness with the protection of personal privacy. Its provisions on electronic records, proactive publication and digital access give it a clear digital-rights dimension and make it directly relevant to the online realisation of the right to information in Ghana.

1. 1Implements the constitutional right to information under Article 21(1)(f) of the 1992 Constitution, giving a person the right to access information held by a public institution.
2. 2Allows a person to apply for information without giving a reason, with provision for oral requests where the applicant is illiterate or has a disability.
3. 3Applies to information held by public institutions and to certain private bodies, including information held in electronic form.
4. 4Sets out a regime of exemptions (cabinet, security, international relations, privacy, commercial confidentiality) subject to public-interest considerations, and prescribes timelines for response.
5. 5Establishes the Right to Information Commission to promote, monitor, protect and enforce the right and to hear complaints.
6. 6Requires public institutions to compile and publish manuals and to designate information officers.