Business
Ghana: Ghana: Saturday, October 05, 2019.
Mr
Justice Emile Francis Short, a former Commissioner of the Commission on Human
Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), has advocated for the formation of a
civil society Coalition on the "Conduct of Public Officers Bill".
He
said such a Coalition would serve as a pressure group to ensure the speedy
passage of the Bill into law.
He
noted that there should be a Coalition in that regard, just as there was a
Coalition formed to push the passage of the Right to Information Bill (RTI)
into law.
The
Bill will set clear rules for public officials on how to conduct themselves in
an array of instances including when it is acceptable to receive gifts from
people.
Mr
Short made the call in Accra at the launch of a research report and a video
documentary on the journey towards the passage of Ghana's RTI Act (Act 989), as
part of activities marking the International Day for Universal Access to
Information (IDUAI) 2019.
The
event was organised by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) in
collaboration with the RTI Coalition.
Each
year, September 28th is observed globally by Human Rights Activists and Civil
Society Organizations as the Right to Know Day.
The
Day, recognised in 2015 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as the IDUAI Day, a day set apart to promote the
peoples' right to information.
With
regards to RTI Law, Mr Short said: "Passing the law doesn't guarantee a
successful implementation. We all know how governments are, whether it's NPP
(New Patriotic Party) or NDC (National Democratic Congress), they will all try
to put bottlenecks on your way in trying to implement an important piece of
legislation like this".
"So,
there is much work to be done and I hope that we will all put our heads
together to make sure that implementation is very successful. Let's ensure that
we have effective and proper provisions in the bill before it is passed."
He
urged the Government to revive and resuscitate the constitutional amendment
process; stating that "the Constitution we have is flawed in so many
respects. And we need to address certain provisions".
Mr
Short, who cited the provision that the President should appoint the majority
of ministers from Parliament, noted that the provision had rendered very weak
parliamentary oversight of the executive.
He
also suggested that that provision had to be looked at critically.
He
further mentioned the excessive powers of appointments given to the President,
which had really made the nation's politics so decisive.
He
said both the NDC and the NPP might not want to change it because they all want
to exercise control.
"The
opposition is in the wings waiting so they could also enjoy when it's their
turn to takeover. So the responsibility lies with civil society to make sure
that some of these changes are made," he stated.
Madam
Mina Mensah, Regional Coordinator, Africa Office CHRI, said every year, the
RTI Coalition joins the global community to commemorate the IDUAI Day with
various activities.
Mr
Inusah Fuseini, Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, said the RTI ACT would
go a long way to strengthen democracy and promote good governance in the
country, adding that it would empower the citizenry to hold government
accountable.
The
52-page research report sought to cover certain topics on the over 27 years of
advocacy until the passage of the RTI Bill into law including what triggered
writing of 1999 draft and the earlier advocacy preceding the 1999 Bill.
It
also tackled happenings beyond the first RTI Bill, the evolution of RTI law,
the legislative footprint of the RTI Bill from 2010 to 2019 and also identified
the role of RTI Coalition since its inception in 2003.
The
report analyzed the role of Civil society's legislative advocacy during the
period the Bill was in parliament, identifying strategies and activities put in
place to determine the ones that helped and those that did not.
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