Accra: A Corruption Watch investigation has exposed a number of state institutions for Right to Information (RTI) violations resulting in significant fines. The institutions implicated include the Ghana Police Service, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Parliamentary Service, the Judicial Service of Ghana, the Attorney-General’s Department, and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

According to Ghana News Agency, the report highlighted that these violations have led to fines totaling approximately 5.6 million Ghana Cedis. The Ghana Police Service has already paid GHS450,357 in fines, while the CHRAJ is yet to pay a fine of GHS30,000. Other institutions such as the Parliamentary Service have paid GHS53,785, and the Judicial Service of Ghana still owes GHS100,000. The Attorney-General’s Department and SSNIT have been fined GHS50,000 and GHS200,000 respectively.

The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) was reported to have paid the highest fine of GHS1.365 million. Other notable fines were paid by the Ministry of Education (GHS260,000), the Lands Commission (GHS150,000), and the Ghana Audit Service (GHS60,000), while the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) owes GHS100,000.

The investigation discovered that taxpayers’ funds are being used to cover these fines imposed by the Right to Information Commission (RTIC). The report, titled ‘SAGA OVER RTI: Millions paid as penalty’, reveals that many governance institutions are failing to comply with the RTI law, thus denying citizens access to requested information.

The RTIC imposed these penalties through more than 70 determinations involving at least 60 separate institutions. The investigation by Corruption Watch spanned six months, from February to July 2025.

In terms of frequency, the Ministry of Education received the most penalties, with four, followed by the Ghana Police Service with three. Ten other institutions, including the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Judicial Service, the Lands Commission, the PPA, the Ministry of Energy, and the Urban Roads Department, received two penalties each.

Corruption Watch is an initiative of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) with support from Transparency International Ghana, Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, Africa Center for International Law and Accountability, and media platforms Joy FM and Adom FM. The initiative is sponsored by the European Union.