A member of pressure group, Occupy Ghana Sydney Casely Hayford believes Parliament does not deserve commendation for passing the Right to Information Bill (RTI) into law.
Parliament finally passed the RTI Bill into law on Tuesday, March 26, 2019, after almost two decades.
Speaking on Citi FM’s News Analysis Programme, The Big Issue, Mr. Casely Hayford said MPs should rather be ashamed for unnecessarily delaying the passage.
“1999 we started fighting for the RTI. I do not think anybody in Parliament with a conscience should come and sit down and crow about it and say that Parliament has done well. It has taken 19 years , nearly 20 years to pass a Bill which is our Right to Information, which will enhance our democracy.
“ At the beginning of this year, we made it clear under the Right to Information Coalition that there is a deliberate attempt not to pass the RTI so if anybody in Parliament think they can pat themselves on the back, I think it is a shameful act that they have put us through and there is no need for it. For people who are committed to democracy and shout at the top of their voice that this is a democratic country, this is not something they should be proud of. In fact they should be hiding their heads behind the curtains of the parliamentary floor and not say anything about RTI bill.”
Before the Bill was passed, the government changed the Minister responsible from the Attorney General to the Information Minister.
The passage of the Bill gave substance to Article 21 (1) (f) of the Constitution which states that “All persons shall have the right to information subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary for a democratic society.”
RTI Bill
The RTI is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the country’s 1992 Constitution and recognized as a right under International Conventions on Human rights.
It was first drafted in 1999 under former President, Jerry John Rawlings.
Various advocacy groups emerged to press for the immediate passing of the Bill into law since 2002.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in its 2008 and 2012 election manifestos promised to ensure the Bill was passed. In 2010, it was presented to Parliament for consideration.
Following the dissolution of the Sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic and the swearing-in of new Parliament in January 2017, the Bill had to be re-laid by the new government.
That was done and the Bill has been receiving attention by the house but not without pressure from CSOs to expedite action on it.
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By: Marian Ansah| citinewsroom.com| Ghana
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