The Fourth Estate once again has exhibited gross ignorance about the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989), regarding the Interministerial Committee Report on the NLA-KGL Deal.
For the avoidance of doubt, KGL Technology Limited, which is directly the main subject of the Review and Renegotiation of its contracts with the National Lottery Authority (NLA), does NOT even have a copy of the Interministerial Committee Report, despite officially writing to the Office of the President, Office of the Attorney-General & Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Finance for a copy of the Report. This implies that KGL is doing financial renegotiations with Government without a copy of and access to the Interministerial Committee Report on the NLA-KGL deal.
The ongoing financial re-negotiations between Government and KGL are strictly guided by the letter issued by the Office of the President dated 7th April 2026 under the signature of the Secretary to the President, Callistus Mahama (PhD).
So, if KGL, which was copied in the letter from the Office of the President dated 7th April 2026 to proceed with renegotiations with Government, has NO Copy of the Interministerial Committee Report, why must Fourth Estate, which was not copied and also NOT even a party to the review and renegotiations of the NLA-KGL deal, be given a copy simply because of the RTI Act, 2019 (Act 989)?
For the purpose of educating those at Fourth Estate and their gullible admirers, NOT all information can be given or accessed under the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989), especially information involving:
1. Section 5(1) of RTI Act, 2019(Act 989) which states that Information is EXEMPT from disclosure where the information:
(a). is prepared for submission or has been submitted to the President or Vice-President for consideration; or
(b). contains matters the disclosure of which would reveal information concerning opinions, advice, deliberation, recommendation, minutes or consultation made or given to the President or the Vice-President and is likely to:
(i) undermine the deliberative process on the part of the President or the Vice-President.
2. Section 6(1) of RTI Act, 2019(Act 989) which states that Information is EXEMPT from disclosure where the information:
(a). is prepared for the submission to the Cabinet or submitted to Cabinet for consideration, or
(b). is at Cabinet, not published or released to the public, and
(c). contains matters the disclosure of which would reveal information concerning opinion, advice, deliberation, recommendation, minutes, or consideration made and is likely to:
(i). prejudice the effective formulation or development of government policy;
(ii). frustrate the success of a policy by premature disclosure of that policy;
(iii). undermine the deliberative process in Cabinet.
3. Section 10 of RTI Act, 2019(Act 989) which states that Information is EXEMPT from disclosure prior to official publication where:
(a). the information contains trade secrets or financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that belongs to the State or public institution, and the information has monetary or a potential monetary value;
(b). the disclosure of the information can reasonably be expected to affect the integrity or stability of the financial system or damage the financial interests of the State or public institution or the ability of the State to manage the national economy;
(c). the disclosure of the information can reasonably be expected to cause a disruption of business or trade in the Country;
(d). the disclosure of the information can unduly benefit or be injurious to a person because it provides prior information about future economic or financial measures to be introduced by the Government or public institution;
(e). the information contains criterion, procedure, position or instruction that relates to negotiations being carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the State or public institution, the disclosure of which shall be injurious to national security and economic development.
4. Section 11(1) of RTI Act, 2019(Act 989) which states that Information which would reveal a trade secret, research, scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour related information supplied in confidence is EXEMPT from disclosure if the disclosure of that information can reasonably be expected to:
(a). prejudice the competitive position of a person, a group of persons or an organization;
(b). adversely affect negotiations with a third party;
(c). result in undue loss or gain to a person, a group, a financial institution or any other body; or
(d). result in a public institution not being supplied with similar information where it is in the public interest that the similar information be supplied to the public institution.
So, the question is very simple, is Fourth Estate/Media Foundation for West Africa a public or private institution?
If public institutions do not have the Interministerial Committee Report on NLA-KGL deal, why must the Government give the Report to a private entity Fourth Estate/Media Foundation for West Africa?
5. Section 13(1) of RTI Act, 2019(Act 989) which states that Information is EXEMPT from disclosure where the disclosure of the information will reveal:
(a). an opinion or an advice given or
(b). a recommendation, consultation or deliberation made to the public institution and is likely to undermine the deliberative process in that public institution.
Importantly also, the Report on the review and renegotiation of NLA-KGL deal CANNOT be accessed by or given to Fourth Estate/Media Foundation for West Africa under Section 17(Disclosure for the protection of public interest) of RTI Act, 2019(Act 989) because the NLA-KGL contracts:
1. have been accepted by Government as LEGAL per the official letter issued by the Office of the President dated 7th April 2026 headlined as “RE: IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS ARISING FROM THE INQUIRY INTO CONTRACTS BETWEEN THE NATIONAL LOTTERY AUTHORITY(NLA) AND KGL TECHNOLOGY LIMITED”.
2. are NOT imminent and serious threat to public safety, public health or morals, the prevention of disorder or crime or the protection of the rights or freedoms of others;
3. Do NOT involve a miscarriage of justice;
4. Do NOT involve an abuse of authority or a neglect in the performance of an official function;
5. CANNOT be classified as “any other matter of public interest and the benefits of disclosure clearly outweigh the harm or danger that the disclosure will cause”.
Except Fourth Estate/Sulemana Braimah, who is interested in destroying KGL?
In conclusion, journalists particularly ignorant ones at Fourth Estate should understand that before you write an Application to Access Information under Section 18, and seeking of redress under Sections 31 to 39 of RTI Act, 2019(Act 989), make sure that you are clearly well educated to the fullest understanding and appreciations of Sections of 5 to 17 of the same RTI Act, 2019(Act 989).
Fourth Estate and Sulemana Braimah need proper education about RTI Act, 2019(Act 989), and I hope this short Article will guide them in their future information-seeking under RTI Act, 2019(Act 989).
….signed…
Razak Kojo Opoku(PhD)
University Lecturer/Business Strategist
