The Right to Information Commission (RTIC) has imposed a GH₵10,000 administrative penalty on the Ghana Education Service (GES) for failing to respond to an information request submitted under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

In a determination dated January 28, the Commission directed the GES, headed by its Acting Director-General, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis, to pay the penalty within 14 days of receiving the ruling.

The RTIC cautioned that failure to comply will attract an additional 10 percent surcharge for every subsequent 14 days of default.

The Commission further ordered the GES to release the requested information to Corruption Watch investigator, Frederick Asiamah, within seven days of receipt of the determination. Asiamah was served with the ruling on January 30, 2026.

The sanction follows a prolonged process that began in January 2025 when Asiamah initially submitted a formal information request to the GES.

After both the Information Officer and the Director-General failed to respond within the timelines prescribed by law, the matter was escalated to the RTIC for review.

This marks the third RTI-related penalty imposed on the GES. Previous sanctions against the Service reportedly amount to about GH₵134,000.

The Ministry of Education, which supervises the GES, has also been cited for multiple RTI breaches, paying fines totalling GH₵260,000.

Data from the RTIC indicates that by July 2025, penalties worth about GH₵5.6 million had been imposed on nearly 60 public institutions for violating the RTI law, although more than GH₵2.1 million remains unpaid.

Source: MyJoyOnline