“Cabinet has given approval for the Right to Information Bill to be laid in Parliament for debate and approval because it is very critical that we pass the Right to Information Bill,” Dr. Bawumia stated during the Norway-Ghana Business and Investment Forum in Accra today [Monday].

[contextly_sidebar id=”7eBcWXIsHxmSq25asrt6woK8TSfSMbzr”]His announcement comes after increased agitations from civil groups, like the Right to Information Coalition, pushing for the passage of the Bill, which has been on the shelves for nearly two decades.

The Vice President said the Bill, if approved will go a long way to boost the fight against corruption and strengthen investor confidence in Ghana.

“It is our hope that this will be an additional feather in our cup in the fight against corruption,” he noted to the forum.

“Ghana has taken cognizance of the mistakes of others. Since coming into office, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has deployed some bold initiatives aimed at curbing the corruption menace in order to assure the investing public of the safety of their investments.”

Exemption of private sector

It is unclear what revisions have been made, but the Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye, said the version of the Bill he was acquainted with did not factor in the private sector.

The Speaker says making access to information from the public sector mandatory through the passage of the Bill without including private businesses, will  be meaningless .

In Prof. Oquaye’s view, state officials suspected to be corrupt usually have links to the private sector.

The RTI Bill, which is expected to make information easily accessible by the media and Ghanaians to boost the fight against corruption has been in legislation for well over 17 years now because successive governments have failed to implement it despite several assurances.

Efforts by several advocacy groups to put pressure on the duty bearers to have the bill passed have also not yielded any positive results.

During his last address to Parliament, outgoing President, John Mahama begged Parliament to pass the Bill at the last minute but his call was ignored.

Executive must implement Bill

Over the weekend, the Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, had also given some assurances that the passage of the Right to Information Bill will be raised in Parliament soon.

However, he added that the onus of the implementation lay on the executive.

“Who does the implementation? It is not Parliament that does the implementation. Today the clamour is for us to [pass] the RTI. Once we finish, what happens? The whistleblowers’ law has been fashioned. Of course for the RTI, we shall definitely craft it. I believe in the next meeting, whatever it takes, we will do that. But I am saying that, once we do that, the implementation and execution is on the shoulders of the executive.”

Observers have criticized successive governments of lacking the political will to pass the Bill, and these concerns were highlighted by a former Vice Chairperson on Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, George Loh, who suggested that Mr. Mensah-Bonsu obstructed the passage of the Bill at the tail end of the Mahama administration.

According to him, the Bill was far advanced and needed only three readings in Parliament to become law, but Mensah-Bonsu, who was then the Minority Leader, said the passage of the law was no pressing in that moment.

Mr. Loh asserted that the Bill could have been passed into law within three days, but for the Minority’s resistance.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa & Sammi Wiafe/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The coalition said the government has failed to show commitment towards actually passing the bill into law.

The Bill has been in and out of Parliament over the last decade, but has not received the needed legislative attention over the period.

[contextly_sidebar id=”niSL3nbeKA4nI3MKnNB1dWeZPSPHubAK”]President Akufo-Addo in his 61^st Independence Day Speech on Tuesday renewed his promise to see to the passage of the bill before the dissolution of the current Parliament.

But the Coalition says it expects more action from the President. The Regional Coordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Mina Mensah, who is also Convener of the Right to Information Coalition, in an interview with Citi News said they expect the President to provide precise timelines for the passage of the bill, which seeks to empower the public to demand information from the government.

“I lost confidence in it a long time again. Unless I see action, the talk doesn’t do anything for me. Since January, the Vice President has talked about it. As for the Minister of Information, I don’t even want to comment on that, and then the AG tells us that it is in cabinet. It has been in cabinet since May 2017. There is no information on the RTI bill. Anything that the President wants passed, gets passed. When he wanted the office of the special prosecutor bill passed, it got passed and they did it with a lot of speed. For me, it’s just the same as it is in their manifesto, that we’ll pass the bill if the current legislator does not pass it. What are the timelines?,” she quizzed.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, has proposed a new timeline for the passage of the much talked about Right to Information Bill.

According to him, Parliament would finish work on the bill by the second meeting of the next session of the house which translates to about July 2018.

Speaking at a training programme for journalists in Parliament in November 2017, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic will work hard to pass the Bill.

About RTI

The right to information is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the country’s 1992 Constitution and recognized 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 in a democratic society”.

The back and forth

The Right to Information Bill was first drafted in 1999 under the former president, Jerry John Rawlings. Various advocacy groups emerged to press for the immediate passing of the bill into law in 2002. The draft bill was reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in its 2008 and 2012 election manifestos promised to ensure the bill is passed. In 2010, the bill was presented to Parliament for consideration.

In 2011, the government signed unto the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Initiative with a commitment to pass by the bill. 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 a 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 is no longer in parliament.

It must be reintroduced to the House by the new government before work commences on it again.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Stop the talks and pass RTI bill – Coalition to gov’t appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He said “Ghana will host the World Press Freedom Day in May, this year. I believe that it will be fantastic for it to pass the RTI to show that it is truly serious about press freedom and I will love to see it.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”TSmMZlh1953mFBWfQ41R1Fm5iSeQ4fu4″]Mr. Jackson said this when he interacted with selected journalists in Tamale on Sunday evening as part of his duty tour of the Northern Region to among others inaugurate four Community-based Health Planning and Services compounds in the region.

Mr. Jackson lauded the government for its efforts to tackle corruption by passing the Special Prosecutor Act, and nominating the Special Prosecutor, but added that the RTI, which is believed to aid the fight against corruption, should also be passed into law.

Media practitioners and civil society organisations championing the fight against corruption have vigorously campaigned for the passage of the RTI into law, but the RTI is yet to see the light of day, more than a decade after it was introduced in Parliament.

The New Patriotic Party, whiles in opposition, promised to pass the RTI into law during its first year in government, but had failed to pass it as promised, and is now in its second year in government.

Mr. Jackson gave thumbs up to journalists in the country, saying there had been great improvement in journalism practice in the country over the past two years.

Mr. Jackson also spoke about the US Diversity Visa Lottery programme, saying more Ghanaians applied for the programme than people from any other country in the world in 2017, as the US Embassy in Accra recorded over 1.5 million applications from Ghana.

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Source: GNA

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The coalition said it noticed with keen interest how the Special Prosecutor bill was passed with urgency in accordance with the wish and preference of the Executive arm of government, and expects that same is done to the RTI bill which has not been passed for nearly ten years after it was first introduced in parliament.

[contextly_sidebar id=”9TDKi3PpRb91rOOHY1gzSlfdB7W6y9x0″]The coalition in a statement copied to citifmonline.com said, it was disappointed that the RTI bill was not placed before Parliament despite the commitment of the current government to expedite action on it.

“We share in the Finance Minister’s mention of the passage of the Office of Special Prosecutor Bill as an accomplishment in putting an anti-corruption arsenal together, but we are disappointed that the passage of the Right to Information Bill which would facilitate the provision of the necessary ammunition for the Office of Special Prosecutor has so far not been placed before Parliament,” it said.

“It is clear that Parliament prioritizes whatever business the Executive considers urgent and such business receives due attention and necessary action, as is appropriate,” it noted.

The Right to Information Coalition accused the Akufo-Addo government of not demonstrating seriousness in fulfilling its 2017 promise in the 2017 Budget to pass the RTI bill.

“It is worth noting that in the 2017 Budget Statement, the Finance Minister mentioned in paragraph 335 that “the Information Ministry will collaborate with all key stakeholders to agree on a programme of action for the passage of the Right to Information Bill into law.” The Minister further mentioned in paragraph 885 that “Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to passing the Right to Information Bill as part of our tools in fighting corruption. We will not pay lip service to fighting corruption.”

“Interestingly, eight (8) months down the line, the Finance Minister, in the 2018 Budget Statement, mentioned in paragraph 272 that “In line with the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP), a Parliamentary Committee will be established to follow up on PAC recommendations, the Conduct for Public Officers’ Bill, the Manual on Standards and Ethics to complement the Code of Conduct for MPs and the Right to Information Bill”.

Obviously, that commitment made in the 2017 Budget Statement seems to have been watered down,” it said.

“The Coalition finds the context in which the RTI Bill is mentioned in the 2018 Budget Statement very revealing, considering that government was not able to fulfill the commitments made on the Bill in the 2017 Budget Statement, but refused to at least commit to achieve and build on it in the upcoming year Budget Statement as done for other commitments that were unfulfilled. Comparing the commitments on the RTI Bill in both Budget Statements and the fact that the Bill has not even moved from the Executive to Parliament almost at the end of the first year of government’s term in office amidst the numerous promises, one can confidently conclude that government’s commitments on the Bill has waned,” it added.

The coalition said it will hold President Akufo-Addo by his word of making sure the bill is passed before the end of the year.

“In conclusion, we reiterate our call on President Nana Akufo-Addo to ensure that a Right to Information Bill is placed before Parliament before the end of the year, 2017 to begin the process of passage “very soon” as repeatedly promised,” it said.

About RTI

The right to information is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the country’s 1992 Constitution, and recognized 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 in a democratic society”.

The Right to Information Bill was first drafted in 1999 under the former president, Jerry John Rawlings. Various advocacy groups emerged to press for the immediate passing of the bill into law in 2002. The draft bill was reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in its 2008 and 2012 election manifestos promised to ensure the bill is passed. In 2010, the bill was presented to Parliament for consideration.

In 2011, the government signed unto the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Initiative with a commitment to pass by the bill. 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 a 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 is no longer in parliament.

It must be reintroduced to the House by the new government before work commences on it again.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Pass RTI Bill urgently as done for Special Prosecutor Bill – Coalition appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking at the Presidential encounters organized by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) on Wednesday, President Mahama said he cannot force Parliament to pass the Bill into law.

“I can’t force them [Parliament] to pass it,” he said.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8ryL5FheenEZ310S6Hfz1WmyDJQNCMxY”]The Bill, which has been in and out of Parliament for over a decade, is yet to be passed, despite its enormous benefits in enhancing access to information in the country.

President Mahama at the encounter noted that “once you present a Bill to Parliament, it becomes a property of Parliament. I am in the executive.”

He said the Bill after its presentation to Parliament, was placed before a committee adding that “they said they will go round the country, they’ve gone round the country, they said they need more stakeholder consultations, I don’t know where it is now.”

“We have separation of powers, parliament is autonomous, I can’t force them to pass it; but I have been advocating for it that they should pass the Bill. It’s been too long, in the state of the nation addresses, I’ve referred to that Bill, and I’ve indicated that I don’t know why it has taken too long in Parliament.”

The President further noted that, he thought the Bill would be passed before the dissolution of the current Parliament, but it seems that was not the case.

“We thought it was going to be passed in the last parliament, but I don’t know what happened.”

I’m not scared of RTI Bill

President Mahama also noted that, he is not scared of the passage of the Bill because he has nothing to hide.

“I can live with that Bill; my government has nothing to hide and I believe that transparency would help us.”

I don’t know where RTI bill is

President Mahama had about two months ago, told the international community that he doesn’t know where the RTI Bill is.

He has since been slammed by some civil society organisations for making that claim.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post I can’t force Parliament to pass RTI bill – Mahama appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.