The Coalition on Right to Information in Ghana May 11 issued a statement “to express its disappointment” that the majority leader of Parliament, Cletus Avoka, said May 7 that “the Right to Information Bill is not a priority for Parliament.”
“This is particularly worrying when democracy depends on open, accountable government and the opportunity for citizens to actively participate,” the statement says.
The legislation has been stalled for about 10 years. (See previous FreedomInfo.og report.)
“From the Majority Leader’s statement, the legal frame work that gives impetus to people’s right to access information in order to deepen democracy, quicken development and eliminate corruption, which is a scourge on the poor, is less of a priority as compared to other Bills such as the Bills on the establishment of the University of Health and Allied Sciences and the University of Energy and Natural Resources, among others,” the coalition said.
The coalition points out that the majority leader belongs to the National Democratic Congress party, which endorsed passage of an RTI law in its manifesto for the 2008 elections. “We also recall that soon after the Mills administration came into office, the President himself, the Vice-President and several Ministers of State did not miss the opportunity to assure Ghanaians of the commitment of the government to ensure the passage of the RTI Bill into law.,” says the statement.
It continues:
In the light of all these public commitments made to the good people of Ghana, it is shocking to hear this new tune of the Majority Leader. The Coalition would have thought that the Majority Leader would rather embrace the view of civil society and encourage his colleagues to pass the bill into law, without further delay. Are the people of Ghana then to assume that the declared commitment to the passage of the RTI Bill into law was simply an election promise and that the NDC had no commitment to do so but rather was simply pulling the wool over the eyes of the hapless citizenry for purposes of the 2008 elections?
It must be noted that the RTI Bill has been going back and forth from one government to the other over 10 years, and it is time for Parliament to connect the right to information to the daily lives of the electorate they represent and their right to development.
The Coalition emphasizes that a right to information law is a key element to development since its enables citizens to access information held by Government bodies, be it information on social, economic or political rights and as a result promote transparency and accountability. An access to information law promotes development because, citizens are able to access and make good use of government intervention programs as well as hold government accountable for its actions.
The question that the Coalition is asking now is how can a right which is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic and is internationally recognized as underpinning all rights be of no priority to Parliament?
Also how can the NDC promise Ghanaians to pass the RTI Bill and after more than three years in power its leader in Parliament, turn round to say that it is not a priority.
The Coalition is therefore calling on the House to prioritize the RTI Bill and make it a part of the Agenda of the next sitting which begins from Tuesday May 15, 2012 and debate it and pass it into law.
We assure Ghanaians that we shall definitely make this matter an election issue, should Parliament fail our people.
Filed under: What's New