Ghana Business News: Ghana: Sunday,
April 09, 2017.
The
Coalition on the Right to Information (RTI) has re-echoed its call on
government to expedite action towards passage of Ghana’s information Bill
bouncing between Parliament and Executive for over two decades.
The
Coalition’s call was made in a six-point resolution adopted at a general
meeting held on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 and copied to the Ghana News Agency
in Accra on Friday.
The
meeting also discussed its activities and reviewed strategies to promote
passage of the Bill.
It
decried failure by the past administration to pass the Information Bill in 2016
despite several efforts put into the review and amendment processes by the 6th
Parliament.
It also
expressed concerns over the time, energy and resources that would be committed
into fresh processes to enable the passage of the Bill and urged the new
government to expedite action to enable passage of the Bill within the first
year of its administration.
The
Coalition referenced to a promise made by the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu
Bawumia at the Transparency International regional meeting in February this
year in Accra where he assured the public that the Bill would be passed in
2017.
“We hope
that this will not be a mere repetition of the promises made by the past
administrations,” the Coalition said.
The
General Meeting which had in attendance regional focal persons from nine
regions also saw the swearing in of new steering committee members to serve for
the next two years.
The
members resolved to continue to work hard to ensure passage of the RTI Bill and
campaign vigorously for Ghana to get an effective access to information regime.
It
expressed satisfaction at the support for sustenance of the campaign for the
passage of the Bill but said it was disappointed at the failure by the 6th
Parliament of the 4th Republic to pass the Bill, despite assurances from the
Executive and leadership of the lawmakers.
It also
expressed concern about the need for passage of the RTI Bill to enhance
democracy, accountability and development.
The
Coalition observed that attitude of governments towards passage of the RTI Bill
over the years had not been the best and that the tactics used had been that of
several promises that never materialised.
“We also
note with cautious optimism, efforts so far initiated by the government of
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to ensure that a new RTI Bill is placed
before Parliament,” it said.The Coalition called on the President to ensure
early submission of the Bill to Parliament for the necessary action.
“The
Coalition renews its commitment and readiness, despite its disappointment and
associated costs, to engage with and support Parliament for the early passage
of the RTI Bill in Ghana,” it said.
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