Good Causes gone bad:  The Fourth Estate drags Presidency, Judicial Service to RTI Commission

The Fourth Estate has petitioned the Right to Information (RTI) Commission to compel the Presidency and the Judicial Service to release pieces of information it requested under the Right to Information law.

An Investigative reporter with The Fourth Estate, Philip Teye Agbove, had written to the Presidency on August 27, 2025, requesting details on annual Independence Day expenditure and the sources of funding for it.

After more than a month, the Presidency refused to respond to the request. In line with Section 31 of the RTI Act, Philip submitted an internal appeal to the Chief of Staff on September 29, 2025, requesting the release of the information.

“Except as otherwise provided in this Act, a person aggrieved by a decision of the Information Officer of a public institution may submit an application for internal review of that decision to the head of the public institution,” the law says.

However, over a month after the appeal, the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, has not responded, echoing the initial silence from the Presidency’s RTI Officer.

According to Section 35 of the RTI Act, “Where the head of the public institution fails to give a decision on a request for internal review within 15 days, the head of that public institution is deemed to have affirmed the original decision of the information officer.”

Judicial Service’s refusal to release information

Philip, on September 26, 2025, submitted another RTI request to the designated officer at the Judicial Service, asking for information on NLA’s Good Causes Foundation expenditure on the Judicial Service.

When the Deputy Judicial Secretary, Justice Dr. Cyracus Bapuuroh, wrote to acknowledge the request in a letter dated October 24, 2025, it was well beyond the 14-day window.

Subsequently, on October 29, 2025, Philip petitioned the then Acting Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, to compel the RTI officer to release the requested information.

 No response was provided.

The Fourth Estate has therefore petitioned the RTI Commission to intervene and compel the Presidency and Judicial Service to release the pieces of information requested.

Philip filed the petition against the Presidency on November 10, 2025, and followed up with that of the Judicial Service on November 20, 2025.

He makes cases for the RTI Commission to invoke its enforcement powers under Sections 43(2)(f), 44(a), and 71(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989), to compel the Judicial Service to release the information.

Under Section 43(2)(f), the Commission is empowered to “require the production of information to which access has been refused” to determine whether the information is exempt.

Section 44(a) further authorizes the Commission to issue written orders requesting the production of information from any public institution.

Additionally, Section 71(1) mandates that the Commission “shall issue binding orders” on matters brought before it.

Meanwhile, the RTI Commission has acknowledged receipt of The Fourth Estate’s petitions.

Mahama’s charge

On November 3, 2025, President Mahama swore in seven members of the RTI Commission, mandating them to oversee the effective implementation of the RTI Act and ensure citizens’ access to public information.

At the swearing-in ceremony, the President emphasized the crucial role of the RTI Commission in advancing accountability and strengthening public trust in government.

Presidency vs The Fourth Estate

This is the fourth time The Fourth Estate has petitioned the RTI Commission against the Presidency. During the Akufo-Addo administration, The Fourth Estate filed three petitions against the presidency on issues relating to the former president’s travels, Zoomlion’s fumigation contracts, and the KMPG report on SML