GTA Directors Seek Financial, Procurement and Management Records Under RTI Law

Fourteen directors of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) have petitioned the Right to Information Commission to compel the disclosure of official records relating to the authority’s administration, finances, procurement activities and operations from February 2025.

The directors, in an application dated September 23, 2026, are seeking the Commission’s intervention after alleging that a request submitted to Acting Chief Executive Officer Marilyn Maame Efua Houadjeto in July did not receive a substantive response within the statutory period.

Their request covered a broad range of institutional records, organised in a four-volume schedule, relating to the governance and administration of the authority. The categories identified in the application include leadership and governance, human resource management, financial administration, the Tourism Development Fund and Tourism Levy, procurement and contracts, assets, regional operations, tourism promotion, strategic projects, official travel, institutional communications and general administration.

The application seeks certified official records covering the period from February 2025 to the date of the original request. The directors’ objective, as reflected in the petition, is to obtain access to records held by the public institution through the procedures provided under the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989).

The directors said they submitted the request to the Acting CEO on July 24, 2026. Receipt was acknowledged in a letter dated July 27, 2026.

According to the petition, the authority did not provide the requested records, issue a substantive decision on access, grant partial access, give reasons for a refusal or notify the applicants of a lawful extension within the 14-day statutory period.

The directors therefore treated the absence of a response as a deemed refusal under Section 23(5) of the Act and proceeded to seek an internal review.

Their internal review application was dated August 13, 2026, and received on August 14. It was addressed to the Chairperson of the GTA Governing Board, Dorothy Lomotey Engmann.

In a letter dated August 20, the Board Chairperson acknowledged receipt and explained that she had been outside the jurisdiction on medical grounds. She said the matter would be referred for advice and direction.

The directors maintained that the acknowledgement did not constitute a substantive decision on the review. They said the 15-day period for the internal review expired on August 29 without a determination, leading them to invoke Section 35 of Act 989 on deemed affirmation.

The petition to the Commission now seeks an order requiring the GTA to disclose all records requested by the directors that are not protected by a lawful exemption.

The applicants are also asking the Commission to require the authority to specify the legal grounds for withholding any information and explain why each exemption applies. Where a document contains both exempt and non-exempt information, they want the accessible portions released rather than the entire record being withheld.

They have further asked for directions on how the matter should be handled if the GTA claims that particular records do not exist.

The financial and administrative categories in the request make the application relevant to questions of public-sector transparency and institutional accountability. Records relating to the Tourism Development Fund and Tourism Levy, procurement and contracts, assets and financial administration are among the areas covered by the broad request.

However, the petition does not, by itself, establish that funds have been misused, contracts improperly awarded or records deliberately concealed. It is an application seeking access to official information and a review of the authority’s alleged failure to follow the statutory process.

The directors have asked the Commission to determine the legal effect of the missed response and internal review deadlines, confirm its jurisdiction and issue appropriate directions to secure access to non-exempt records.

Angelo Yossi Dogbe, the GTA Northern Regional Director, filed the application as the authorised representative for correspondence and filing on behalf of the concerned directors.

The other directors named in the application are Kwasi Anim-Larbi, William Dzidzomu, Spencer Doku, Isaac Asiam, Frederick Adjei-Rudolph, Alhaj Hakeem A. Ismael, Moses Ndewin Ndebugri, Alfred Asumadu, Henry Yeleduor, Nana Agyenim Boateng, Michael Kpingbi, Kwesi Frimpong and Sulemana Amadu.

The Commission’s determination, if issued, would clarify the next steps in the dispute over access to the requested records. No ruling by the Commission or finding of financial or procurement wrongdoing is established in the material provided.