Parliament urged to pass credible RTI bill

• Posted on February 5, 2019
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

The Coalition on the Right to Information (RTI) Ghana, the Media Coalition on RTI and OccupyGhana (collectively known as the “Coalition”) has urged Parliament to pass the Right to Information Act, a monumental bill that would reflect the country’s 1992 Constitution, stating “All persons shall have the right to information subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic society.”

While the coalition applauded Parliament for taking steps towards passing the bill, it said more needed to be done.

“The coalition commends the effort by this Parliament to act with urgency in ensuring the speedy passage of the RTI Bill following the reopening of Parliament just four days ago,” a statement released by the group on Sunday said.

The Coalition is calling on members of Parliament to address two main issues being amendments to Clause 13 of the Act, which exempts any information revealing opinions that would intentionally undermine public institutions.

According to the statement, “the current draft of Clause 13 could be easily misconstrued to severely, if not completely and dilute the right to information.”

12-month transition period

Second, the coalition cautions against a 12-month transition and implementation period for the clause as suggested by Parliament.

That is to eliminate any destructive consequences that could result as seen in other African countries when transition clauses have led to non-implementation of the law.

“That is why it is important that if it is necessary to include a transitional provision, then it should be a reasonable transition period that clearly spells out what should be done and the timeframe for putting in place the necessary structures for the full and effective implementation of the law,” the statement said.

The coalition said that in the coming days, they will request to meet with all majority and minority leaders, including the Leadership of the Joint Committee to provide more details.

“We wish to assure Ghanaians of our full commitment to the passage of a credible law.”