Ghana’s Parliament has resumed consideration of a Right to Information bill, but disagreements surfaced quickly.
“Parliament was divided over the meaning of a clause in the Right to Information (RTI) Bill, which requires a person urgently requesting for information to provide reasons,” according to Ghana Web. The article said some members argued that such a justification requirement could be used to frustrate applicants and defeat the whole purpose of providing access to information.
The controversial Clause 1 states: “The Clause provides for access to official information held by a government agency. Except for information specified as exempt information, a person has a right of access to information held by government agencies and does not need to give a reason for the request for access, unless that person requests that the application is treated with urgency. ”
The debate caused the Speaker to task the Legal and Constitutional Committee with proposing an amendment, according to Peace FM.
The legislation faces many amendments, according to media reports
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has asked President John Dramani Mahama to as a matter of urgency ensure the passage of the Right to Information Bill into law.
A few days of debate were held in March. (See previous FreeedomInfo.org article.)
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