Ghana Business News: Ghana: Sunday, July 22, 2018.
An
investigator at the Upper West Regional Commission on Human Rights and
Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has called for swift passage of Ghana’s Right to
Information Bill into law to enhance public recordkeeping.
An
information law would enhance probity and accountability as well as facilitate
proper recordkeeping in the country’s public sector to boost efficiency in administrative
procedures, Mr Sebastian K. Zem, the Regional Deputy Chief Investigator at
CHRAJ said on Thursday.
Mr Azem was
making a presentation on the RTI action campaign in Wa where several
stakeholders including journalists, traditional authorities, women groups,
Persons with Disabilities and assembly members among others attended.
SEND-Ghana
organised the programme being implemented by the Accountable Democratic
Institutions and Systems Strengthening Consortium and the RTI Coalition with
funding support from the USAID.
The
investigator said when the RTI Bill is passed into law, it would present a
powerful tool for citizens to demand and secure social justice and equal
rights, a move that would add up to Ghana’s democratic credentials.
“Democratic
governance cannot function properly without an informed citizen who political
office holders are accountable to,” he added.
He expressed
worry about poor recordkeeping mostly in Ghana’s public sector which
stakeholders believe serve as the breeding point for corrupt practices in the
country.
“When we are
able to pass this law it will enhance probity and openness in financial
accountability and social justice – equal rights to opportunities,” he said
adding: “Public officials cannot be arbitrary and capricious in exercising
their discretionary powers”.
He said the
inefficiencies in the public sector owing to bad recordkeeping would be reduced
to the barest minimum and save the country enormous financial resources for
more development projects.
Mr Azem said:
“The public must be educated to promote the passage of the RTI bill into law
and also monitor compliance with the law once it is passed”.
He defended
the public call for quicker passage of the Information bill, saying, “The push
for the passage of the bill is not being done in a vacuum and there are grounds
for this”.
He quoted
extensively the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights which guarantees the
right to expression as well as the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights
to back the urgent call on lawmakers to pass the law.
“The rights
are not given by our presidents or chiefs or parliamentarians or pastors or
leaders, they are inalienable rights,” he said.
Mr Ibrahim
Saani, a participant at the workshop and president of the Ghana Federation of
Disability Organisations, told the Ghana News Agency that: “We have to pass the
Information bill to enhance information access in all sectors or institutions.”
He said if
the bill was passed it would allow people to have legitimate access to public
information.
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