The African Union Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information, Pansy Tlakula, is visiting Ghana to discuss the long-stalled right to information bill.
The Special Rapporteur will meet with leaders of Parliament, the Minister of Information and Media Relations, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, and the Select Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, according to a Ghana News Agency report.
The Ghana Coalition on Right to Information said in a statement that Tlakula’s visit is to find out about the state of the RTI bill, which has been under consideration for about a dozen years.
On July 3, Tlakula addressed a seminar, explaining the African model right to information law.
“Tlakula said she had received assurances from the leadership of Ghana’s Parliament and government officials that the RTI Bill would be passed into law before the end of the tenure of the current Parliament,” GNA reported.
GNA also said that Tlakula “urged the Coalition to think outside the box on how to continue to engage with authorities in the country, adding that, they must identify who championed their cause and use silent diplomacy to present their case.”
Professor Kwame Karikari, Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana and former Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa, said “there is light at the end of the tunnel,” according to GNA.
Mina Mensah, Regional Coordinator of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and member of the Coalition, said Parliament had referred the bill to the Attorney General for further amendment to make it more vibrant.
The Coalition this year has been actively campaigning for the RTI bill, which in recent years has had presidential support but remained stuck in Parliament.
In a late June statement, the Coalition stressed the potential value of an RTI law for fighting corruption.
The Coalition is pushing for passage and for amendment of the bill before Parliament, which it considers weak. Among other things, the timelines for responding to requests are “excessive.”
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