Ghana’s Right to Information Coalition on Jan. 19 staged a march to government offices to protest the lack of action by Parliament on pending freedom of information legislation, according to news reports on myjoyonline.com and businessghana.com.
More than 1,000 coalition members went to the Ministry of Information, carrying signs reading: “RTI will promote democracy, RTI is the mother of all information, Agya Atta fulfill your promise, Uncle Atta pass RTI now, RTI promotes civil rights, RTI will improve rule of law, We need information access, RTI will promote accountability” and others.
The coalition expressed concern that promised nationwide consultations on the bill to get the public’s input, which some sources had told Freedominfo.org would get under way in January, have not materialized. The bill was referred by the government to a parliamentary committee this fall. (See previous Freedominfo.org report.)
At Parliament House, it was reported, Majority Leader Alban Kingsley Bagbin “said that the House would place priority on the process to give it a critical consideration since, according to him, it is the surest way of combating corruption in the system.”
The coalition statement says in part: “We urge government to pay critical attention to the text of the Bill to ensure that the RTI law that is passed into law conforms to international best practice standards and enhances accountability and transparency.”
It calls for an independent oversight body to enforce the RTI law and a reduction in the number of proposed exemptions. Moreover, the statement says that “the Bill must cover not just government agencies but also private sector and chieftaincy institutions, which all play key roles in national trade and development initiatives.” Fees for accessing information “must be minimal,” the coalition states.
The coalition called on Ghanaian civil society and their organizations “to study the provisions of the current Bill and submit memoranda to Parliament on those clauses of the Bill that are inimical to the right of the people to information as guaranteed by the Constitution.”
Ghana’s National Media Commission in December urged approval of the bill. (See previous Freedominfo.org report.)
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