Public Agenda (Accra)
9 November 2009
document
Accra — The Coalition on the Right to Information Ghana issues this statement in response to the article, which appeared on the front cover page of the Public Agenda edition of Monday November 2, 2009 under the title, 'FOI BILL IN PARLIAMENT.'
We wish to set the record straight by stating that contrary to the heading of the article, the Right to Information (RTI) Bill is not yet in Parliament. To the best of our knowledge, the RTI Bill was submitted by the Minister of Justice to Cabinet in May this year and later, forwarded to a sub-committee on governance to review and submit recommendations to Cabinet. We are not aware of the completion of this process and when the Bill will appear before Parliament. Government has not given information about this process.
We however re-echo the urgent need to pass this Bill that is vital to the country's democratic practice. We express our dissatisfaction over the slow pace with which government has handled the Bill.
In spite of the numerous statements made by Government officials committing to pass the Bill during the year, the year is drawing to a close and we are unsure if the Bill will be tabled and passed in the last sitting of Parliament by December 2009.
Once again, the Coalition on the Right to Information Ghana wishes to remind the NDC Government of its promises regarding this Bill and issue an urgent call to government to act on its promises before the year ends.
We note in particular that besides the initial promise to pass the Bill which was included in the NDC Party Manifesto of 2008, as follows, "the new NDC government shall enact into law, the Freedom of Information Bill to facilitate access to official information, buttressing our commitment to disclosures," several other supportive statements have been made by the Executive that are yet to be fulfilled as referenced below;
In his first State of Nation Address made in Parliament on February 19th 2009, His Excellency President Atta Mills outlined a number of bills, including the RTI Bill to be passed. The President stated that RTI legislation would be adopted as part of the measures to fight corruption and to affirm the party's commitment to disclosures.
"Transparency in government and the fight against corruption are cardinal for sustainable development," he added. The President further noted that "during his administration, he would address transparency through a three dimensional approach including ensuring the passage of the Freedom of information Act" and urged for its passage stating that the Bill deserved priority consideration from Parliament. (Italics supplied).
Unfortunately, the year is drawing to a close and President Mills has not fulfilled his promise.
During a final consultation on the Right to Information Bill hosted by the Attorney-General Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, joined by the Minister of Information Mrs Zita Okaikoi with the Coalition on the Right to Information-Ghana in Accra in March this year, the Attorney-General noted that "the main thrust of the RTI Bill, save for the exceptions, was that a public officer will not be able to say to a member of the public "I cannot tell you what you have the right to know." She emphasized that, "... the NDC government's quest to pass the Bill is not in doubt." Amidst resource constraints of running a lean budget, she said the Mills Administration intends to pull through on its promise to lay the Bill before Cabinet for approval and onward submission to Parliament within weeks.
At the same meeting, Ms. Zita Okaikoi, Hon. Minister of Information, echoed similar sentiments highlighting her government's commitment to good governance, central of which is in giving opportunity to the people to access information within the custody of government.
The consultative approach taken by the ministers in seeking to openly engage and dialogue with civil society groups on the Bill at the earliest opportunity demonstrated the government's progressive interest in open and participatory democracy. However, the delay in complying with their promises to expedite the Bill raises previous misgivings on the political will towards passage of the Bill into law by the executive.
It will be further recalled that during a media encounter at the end of the first hundred days of the Mills Administration, the Minister of Justice stated that Ghana is set to be the first country in the West African Sub region to have the Right to Information (RTI) law. She further noted that "the most critical of the outstanding issues are the appointment of the independent regulator, the numerous exemption clauses, inclusion of the chieftaincy institution and private bodies, and the fee regime," which in her view were "...not major issues that were hindering us... in our quest to pass the law."
December is round the corner and this has not been achieved. Despite all these supportive statements, the government has still not provided a clear timeline on when the Bill will be passed. It has been nine months since His Excellency, President Atta Mills and the present government assumed office and still the Bill is yet to be tabled before Parliament.
We are however inspired by previous statements made by honourable members of parliament, in particular, the Hon. Alban Bagbin, the Majority Leader of Parliament, and Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, the Minority Leader who have expressed concern on the delay of the executive in presenting the RTI Bill to parliament over the past seven years. They have gone ahead to declare that "it is now time to bring it out of Cabinet since Parliament is ready to partner with the Executive for the passage of the Bill."
The Coalition therefore joins in the public call that has been echoed by eminent bodies such as CHRAJ, Ghana TUC, Parliament, Religious Bodies like the Chief Imam, the Presbyterian Church, the Ghana Journalists Association, the Ghana Bar Association, Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition and several other groups to demand that government acts expeditiously and submit the Bill to Parliament.
Government must demonstrate the Political will and work to entrench a legal framework that will guarantee the enjoyment of the fundamental Right to Information to the people of Ghana. In the process, government should take the necessary steps to create the working structures and inculcate a culture of openness among public agencies and break the tradition of secrecy and withholding information that is still prevalent in public institutions.
EDITOR'S NOTE
Our story was based on an interview with the Majority leader, Hon. Alban Bagbin. We had no cause to doubt him because the Right to Information bill has indeed been listed among the Bills for presentation as captured in the Agenda for the Third Meeting of Parliament.
The Coalition may want to access a copy of the Agenda for its perusal.
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