14 GTA Directors Petition RTI Commission Over CEO’s Failure to Release Records

Fourteen directors of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) have petitioned the Right to Information Commission over what they describe as the failure of the authority’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Marilyn Maame Efua Houadjeto, to respond substantively to their request for official records.

In a petition dated September 23, 2026, the directors asked the Commission to review the alleged refusal to provide information they requested in July 2026, as well as the failure to determine their subsequent application for an internal review.

The directors said they submitted their initial request to the Acting CEO on July 24, 2026, seeking certified official records covering the administration of the GTA from February 2025 to the date of the request. The Acting CEO acknowledged receipt in a letter dated July 27, 2026.

According to the petition, however, they did not receive a substantive decision, the requested information, a partial disclosure, reasons for refusing access or a lawful notice extending the response period within the 14 days prescribed under the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989).

They therefore relied on Section 23(5) of the Act, which they cited as the basis for treating the failure to respond within the statutory period as a deemed refusal of access to information.

The directors subsequently filed an application for internal review on August 13, 2026, which was received on August 14. The application was addressed to the Chairperson of the GTA Governing Board.

In a letter dated August 20, 2026, the Board Chairperson, Dorothy Lomotey Engmann, acknowledged the application and explained that she had been outside the jurisdiction on medical grounds. She indicated that the matter would be referred for advice and direction.

The petitioners argued that the acknowledgement did not constitute a substantive determination of their internal review application. They further stated that the 15-day period for the review expired on August 29, 2026, without a decision, prompting them to invoke Section 35 of Act 989 on deemed affirmation.

The directors are now asking the Right to Information Commission to confirm its jurisdiction to hear the matter and determine whether the alleged failure to respond amounted to a deemed refusal, followed by a deemed affirmation after the internal review process was not substantively concluded.

They have also requested an order directing the disclosure of all requested records that are not exempt from disclosure under the law. Where the GTA intends to withhold any information, they want the authority to identify the specific legal grounds for the exemption and provide reasons supporting the decision.

The petition further asks the Commission to direct the release of non-exempt portions of any records containing exempt information and to issue appropriate directions where the authority claims that particular records do not exist.

The records sought cover several aspects of the authority’s administration, including governance and leadership, human resource management, financial administration, the Tourism Development Fund and Tourism Levy, procurement and contracts, assets, regional operations, tourism promotion, strategic projects, official travel and institutional communications.

The application was filed through Angelo Yossi Dogbe, the GTA Northern Regional Director, who was authorised to represent the concerned directors in correspondence and the filing process.

The petition raises questions about compliance with statutory timelines for access to public information and the handling of internal review applications within the authority. However, the filing itself does not establish financial or procurement wrongdoing, and the Commission’s determination is yet to be stated in the material provided.