Gov’t prepares for implementation of RTI Bill ahead of passage this week

• Posted on March 25, 2019
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

Government is commencing preparatory work ahead of the passage of the Right to Information Bill which is expected to be passed in Parliament this week.

The 7th Parliament of the Fourth Republic has completed the consideration stage of the Bill after several policy changes and amendments and months of rigorous debates on the Floor of the House.

Currently there are new petitions asking for further amendments to provisions of the bill.

However, Parliament is minded to pass the bill into law this week, and send it for Presidential assent soon thereafter.

Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah told journalists in Accra that the Bill in its current form requires the establishment of Information Units in all public offices, recruitment and training of information officers to man these units, establishment of the RTI commission and the completion of various administrative protocols before the commencement of the next fiscal year.

“It is necessary to ensure that there will indeed be the infrastructure that can deliver on the RTI requests filed under this new law,” he said.

He said the new law will be a major addition to the credential of Ghana as a strong democracy and President Akufo-Addo who for many years has championed the cause of enhancing the frontiers of human rights.

The Minister disclosed that government through the Ministry of Information, which will be the implementing ministry, has already commenced engagements in preparation of a roadmap for implementation.

“We ask all who have followed the entire process to join in heralding the final passage and to cooperate with us in its implementation” he added.

RTI Bill to be passed on Tuesday – Kyei Mensah Bonsu
Barring any last minute hitches, Parliament will pass into law the Right Time to Information Bill next week Tuesday, March 26, 2019.

This new assurance was given by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu.

RTI bill passage to cost GHc 750 million

The implementation of the Right to Information in Ghana has been estimated to cost GHc 750 million over five years, according to a report by the Research Department of Parliament in 2017.

The report sighted by Citi News indicates that the cost will revolve around the setting up of an RTI Commission.

The breakdown of costs included funds for boards, administrative expenses, district administrative expenses, district office facilities and a head office.

For example, the administrative staff cost at the head office in the first year was marked at GHc 651,968.22.

For all the districts, the staff cost is pegged at GHc 91 million. These figures reduce year to year from 2018 to 2021.

About RTI

The right to information is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the country’s 1992 Constitution and recognised as a right under International Conventions on Human rights.
The bill as it has been drafted is to give 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.”

The back and forth

The Right to Information Bill 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 in 2002 and reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

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.

In 2011, the government signed unto the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Initiative with a commitment to pass the law. In November 2013, the Bill was formally laid before parliament.

Former Attorney General, Deputy Dominic Ayine in 2015, moved the Bill for second reading in Parliament. In October 2016, the Bill was withdrawn and replaced with a new one which was immediately laid.

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 before work commences on it.

That was done and the bill has been receiving attention by the house but not without pressure from CSOs to expedite action on it.

Source: CNR