KOFI ANOKYE OWUSU-DARKO (BLOG 1)

The recent public controversy surrounding the reported GH¢49.7 million expenditure on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa raises important questions about transparency, accountability and the protection of personal data. Following a Right to Information (RTI) request, records relating to the evacuation have become the subject of public scrutiny, with reported discrepancies in the documentation and expenditure. Personal information relating to individual evacuees, including names, dates of birth, passport numbers, signatures and professions , has also appeared in media coverage. There can be little disagreement about the public’s legitimate interest in knowing how government resources are utilised. The Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989 ), provides an important legal framework for promoting transparency and holding public institutions accountable. Indeed, the reported discrepancies demonstrate why access to public information is essential in a democratic society. Howev...

  How do you contest a decision when no one will explain how it was reached? Consider a hypothetical case. Anokyewaa graduates with first-class honours and applies for a government-funded postgraduate scholarship. The state agency administering the scheme receives tens of thousands of applications. She is not selected. Her letter says she “did not meet the required threshold.” It gives no score and no reasons. She later finds that several successful applicants had weaker academic records. That alone does not establish unfairness: academic results may not have been the only criterion. But she cannot find out what else counted or why her application fell short. Anokyewaa files a request under the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989), asking how her application was assessed. The agency replies that the selection was made by an automated artificial intelligence (AI) system. She now knows that AI was involved. She still does not know what it measured, what score she receive...