EC excuse to deny Ashaiman MP information request, a ‘shameful insult to the public’ – Samson Lardy

The Right to Information Coalition has lambasted the Electoral Commission for its “shameful” refusal to grant an MP’s request for documents on some procurement services.

Legal practitioner, Samson Lardy Anyenini, called the Electoral Commission’s posture  “an insult to the public.”

The EC, speaking through its lawyers, had explained to the Ashaiman MP, Ernest Henry Norgbey, that it could not release the information on the procurement of some consultancy services because “… the fees and charges applicable are yet to be determined in accordance with the law.”

Photo: Henry Norgbey

But expressing disappointment in the Jean Mensa-led EC, the host of influential JoyNews’ program Newsfile said the Commission could have handed over the information in a way that requires no cost to the EC.

They could have asked the MP to bring a pendrive or a CD for the information, pointing out that EC is funded by taxpayers.

Schooling the EC on the Right to Information law, Samson Lardy said the Commission had “no business” using a lawyer to reply to the MP’s request.

That work should have been done by the EC’s designated Information Officer, he said.

He called the EC’s response “flawed” and said the commission should classify the request by the MP as one that was still pending.

Samson Anyenini said the EC had “missed an opportunity to show respect for citizens whose monies the EC has used to generate the information that they are requesting.”

“You have no business treating information as if it is your personal property, generated with your private funds,” he said. The RTI advocate warned that the fight to demand access to public information was far from over, despite the passage of the RTI Bill into law in 2019.

The lawyer called on the government, particularly the Information Ministry, to issue a statement discouraging government officials from following the EC’s “shameful” example.

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“The Information Ministry must be heard on this,” he said and recalled the minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah’s, assurance in January that anyone can apply for public information as the RTI law kicked in.

The law, which took effect from January 2, 2020, is expected to make it easier for persons to request and receive information from public institutions in Ghana.

The RTI Bill was first drafted in 1999, reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007, but  presented to Parliament in 2010.

Parliament passed it after sustained pressure from civil society organisations. But even after the passage in 2019, the government deferred its implementation to 2020.

By law, the government is to set up a seven-member RTI Commission to intervene when an applicant’s request for public information is denied.

But to date, no such administrative body has been set up to supervise the law’s implementation.

RTI coalition has been wary of hailing the RTI passage, pointing out there was more work to be done.

“It is a bit of a joke to want to jubilate at this time” an advocate and Joy FM’s Newsfile host, Samson Lardy Anyenini,  warned and called on others to lace up their boots for another round of public-spirited advocacy.