The State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) joined the Ministry of Information, UNESCO, Office of the Head of Civil Service (OHCS) and the Office of the Local Government Service (OLGS) to orient 250 Right to Information Officers (RTI).

The 3-day training held on the Dzorwulu campus of GIJ, was to educate the new officers on their duties, conditions of service, customer service and expectations of them.

Speaking at the orientation programme, Ms. Araba Mansa Pratt, an Assistant Manager with the Corporate Affairs Division, congratulated the new recruits on their appointment and relayed the well wishes of the Director-General of SIGA.

Participants were then taken through an interactive session on SIGA’s mandate, objectives and functions. Feedback and questions during the Q&A session indicated the officers’ appreciation of the role of the Authority.  Ms. Pratt encouraged the new officers to be ambassadors of SIGA wherever they would be posted to. .

The orientation and training programme was launched by the Honorable Minister of Information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah who advised the officers to demonstrate utmost fidelity to the law and conduct themselves professionally with a high sense of service at their duty posts.

Other dignitaries in attendance were Mr. Abdourahamane Diallo, UNESCO representative to Ghana, Mr. Yaw Sarpong Boateng, Right to Information Commissioner, Madam Mamle Andrews, Chief Director of Ministry of Information, Mr. James Oppong Mensah, Chief Director of Local Government Service, Mrs. Eunice Osae, Director at the Office of the Head of Civil Service, Rector of Ghana Institute of Journalism, Prof. Kwamena Kwansah Aidoo, Dr. Winnifred Nafisa Mahama, Head of Access to information Division of the Information Services Department  and other Directors at the Ministry of Information.

The RTI information ACT 989 was passed in May 2019 to implement the constitutional right to information held by public institutions and to encourage a culture of transparency and accountability in public affairs.

The 250 RTI Officers are the second batch employed by the government to run the RTI offices in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) across the country. A first batch of 99 officers were recruited in 2020 when the RTI Act was first passed.