A former member of the board of directors of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), and a lawyer in private practice, Kow Essuman, has submitted a formal application to the Right to Information (RTI) Commission over the refusal of the MIIF CEO, Justina Nelson, to release the 2024 audited financials of the fund.
Kow Essuman is on record as having submitted a Right To Information (RTI) request to the CEO of MIIF, requesting a copy of the 2024 MIIF audited accounts, prepared by the Auditor General and signed off in June 2025. To date, his 26 September 2025 RTI request has not been answered. The MIIF CEO, however, in a letter to Mr Essuman, noted that MIIF can release the audit report only when its board of directors approves it.
“This morning, I filed a formal Application for Review before the Right to Information (RTI) Commission under section 65 of the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989) against the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).
“This application arises from MIIF’s refusal, both express and deemed, to determine or respond to multiple RTI requests and internal review applications I have submitted since September 2025.
These requests sought straightforward information about MIIF’s 2024 audited financial statements. As a former Board Member, this information is not only of significant public interest but directly relevant to my tenure, under which the matters contained in the 2024 statements transpired,” Kow Essuman posted on his X handle today, Wednesday, 26 November 2025.
“My application sets out several constitutional breaches and violations of both the RTI Act and the MIIF Act, particularly regarding transparency, accountability, and statutory reporting obligations. I have duly served MIIF with a copy of my application. See copies attached.
“During this period, I also submitted similar requests to the Auditor-General of the Ghana Audit Service and the Ministry of Finance. The Audit Service has been exemplary – professional, transparent, prompt, and helpful.
“The Information Officer confirmed that the 2024 audited financial statements were completed, signed on 27 June 2025, and submitted to MIIF and the Ministry of Finance.
“They further explained that, due to timing differences, ensuring a complete and accurate audit, the 2024 report could not be included in the 2025 Auditor-General’s report to Parliament and will instead be included in the 2026 report,” Mr Essuman further wrote in his X post.
Laying more emphasis on his post, Essuman said, “Unfortunately, the Ministry of Finance has also not responded to any of my RTI requests, in clear breach of Act 989. While preparing this application, I woke up to a Joy News report alleging that Board Members of MIIF had undertaken unapproved foreign travel.
“Let me state categorically that the Chief of Staff duly approved every trip I undertook as a Board Member of MIIF, and I have documentary evidence to support this.
“It is disappointing that a reputable media house would publish such claims based on what they describe as “intercepted documents”, documents which were clearly incomplete and misleading, given that:
“1. MIIF itself has repeatedly stated publicly that it has not published the 2024 audited financial statements;
“2. That is precisely why I filed my RTI requests.
“3. The current CEO confirmed before Parliament and publicly justified the official travels.
“4. Any documents relied upon by Joy News, without the full financial statements, cannot present a fair or professional picture,” Essuman wrote.
“Journalism must serve the public interest without distorting facts. Nevertheless, let’s look at the bigger picture. As a country, our energy should be directed toward celebrating and protecting the successes achieved with MIIF – an institution that posted an impressive profit of GHS 1.9 billion in 2024.
“A fund built from scratch is now a significant national asset. Rather than tearing down what has been built, we should support the current management to continue strengthening the institution for the benefit of all Ghanaians,” Kow Essuman further wrote.
“I remain committed to transparency, accountability, and the rule of law. My pursuit of this matter is guided by those principles – not politics, not emotion, but a deep respect for public institutions, having served at a very high level in the highest office of the land, and the responsibility we owe this nation,” Mr Essuman concluded in his post.
