The Right to Information Bill was laid in parliament on the last day of sitting before it adjourned for a 6-week break.

[contextly_sidebar id=”GlHRfL8emEqWLsns4ePqOVBElCc05C7l”]The Bill has been in and out of Parliament for close to twenty years, and if passed, it will enhance citizens’ access to public information.

The Bill has been referred to the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the house.

Speaking on the floor of parliament, Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu appealed to the Committee assigned to pass the RTI Bill to use the recess period to pass the Bill.

“Mr. Speaker, may I implore that the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the house  avail themselves during parliament’s recess to complete their work and enable the house deliberate on them. This would be a clear indication that government is committed  to fighting corruption in the country”.

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 for 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 In October 2016, the bill was withdrawn and a replaced with a new one which was immediately laid.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.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Bill has since been referred to the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs of Committee of Parliament. This comes after Cabinet fully approved the Bill on Thursday.

But on the floor of the House, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrissu, raised concerns with the fact that the Bill had not been gazetted.

Per the Constitution, any Order, Rule or Regulation made by a person or authority under a power conferred by the Constitution must be published in the Gazette on the day it is laid before Parliament.

Gazetting involves the official publicizing of law or other material by the state.

The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, retorted saying the Bill does not need to be gazetted before it is laid, as the Committees it has been referred to can deal with that.

22-year journey of Bill

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 because successive governments have failed to ensure its passage despite several assurances.

It was first drafted 22 years ago under the auspices of the Institute of Economic Affairs, IEA.

The draft Executive Bill was subsequently reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007 but was never laid in Parliament until February 5, 2010.

It was subsequently withdrawn to review some clauses.

Since then, efforts by several advocacy groups to put pressure on the duty bearers to have the Bill passed have also not yielded any positive results until now.

Observers have criticized successive governments for lacking the political will to pass the Bill.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government promised to pass the Bill when it assumed power in 2017.

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By: Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia, on Monday announced that a revised Bill has been submitted to the cabinet for further deliberation.

[contextly_sidebar id=”OI2lPqEkCo4ESIww51CQ1h2itXPZ3XfJ”]Speaking to Citi News the Vice President of the Ghana Bar association Anthony Gordon Jnr said the passage of the Bill has been long overdue.

“To get it passed is the right direction, It has been too longing on the books and it has the effect of bringing sunshine onto so many issues which otherwise person like the media will find difficult in unearthing the truth,” he said.

He noted that the agitation of the people is in the right direction because the passing of the Bill would actually assist the governance of the country.

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 for 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.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post GBA commends Govt’s efforts to get RTI Bill passed appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The members took to the principal streets of Accra on Monday morning, distributing flyers to get citizens involved in the advocacy to get the Bill passed.

[contextly_sidebar id=”9eEQAurHhdV1AaUZDXpKrytFQ1UAwGUS”]Speaking to Citi News, the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Anti-corruption Coalition, Beauty Emefa Narteh, said all their engagements with the government have been fruitless, so they have no option than to take the campaign to the streets.

“Previously, we have always done the engagement, we have sat with them to talk about it, it has not worked, so I believe that going to the streets and reminding the President to fulfill his promise is important,” she said.

According to her, the involvement of citizens in getting the bill passed is crucial.

“This bill is very important to them, that is why today we are sensitizing, eliciting and soliciting support from citizens to join and demand that the bill is passed,” she said.

She noted that politicians are able to pass bills they consider as important with urgency, but have failed to pass the RTI Bill for seventeen years.

Background of RTI Bill

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 duty-bearers to have the bill passed have also not yielded any positive results.

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

Although the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has promised to pass the bill, it is unclear how soon that would be.

Cabinet yet to hold talks on RTI bill – Hamid

Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, in January 2018 claimed that Cabinet had not held discussions on the RTI bill.

“Cabinet has proposed to have a special session to look at this particular bill because of the importance that it has before we then pass it and take it to Parliament…The bill is before Cabinet. It will be discussed. If you ask me when, I will not be able to say, but I am sure pretty soon the Cabinet Secretary will get a day when the entire Cabinet will retreat in order to look at this bill properly and then when we have a final consensus on it, we can then take it to Parliament,” he added.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post RTI Coalition hits the streets over passage of RTI Bill appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

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

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

“I was not happy, particularly with one aspect. That is, information can only be compelled from the public service, but that private businesses, foreign companies and others cannot be compelled. I said: but there is a symbiosis between corruption, corrupt officials and the businesses they do business with, and increase contracts by 10, 20, 30 percent.”

“I would suggest publicly that it must encompass everybody; the private sector, the public sector, the business promoters, the business consultants and those people who have some very interesting titles but who themselves are the real promoters of corrupt practices. For those persons, the Right to Information Bill must stretch to all of them before it can really be meaningful,” Prof. Oquaye said.

Background of RTI Bill

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.

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

Although the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has promised to pass the bill, it is unclear how soon that would be.

Cabinet yet to hold talks on RTI bill – Hamid

Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, in January 2018 claimed that Cabinet had not held discussionson the RTI bill.

“Cabinet has proposed to have a special session to look at this particular bill because of the importance that it has before we then pass it and take it to Parliament…The bill is before Cabinet. It will be discussed. If you ask me when, I will not be able to say, but I am sure pretty soon the Cabinet Secretary will get a day when the entire Cabinet will retreat in order to look at this bill properly and then when we have a final consensus on it, we can then take it to Parliament,” he added.

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By: Zoe Abu Baidoo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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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 his team members were not interested.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ZpmQZTOCIlBaocBCObI0DUrFC5iGB6xb”]“We had shepherded the bill and we were left with just few clauses. But you know when it got to the crunch and we were supposed to do it…it was the opposition leader then, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, who said there were better things they [Minority] are thinking about, [Mensah-Bonsu said] our people are not willing to do it, we would not want to do it. We [NPP Minority members] have had a meeting and we think that this is not the right time so when we [NPP] come [to power] we will pass it,” George Loh said on Citi FM’s current affairs and news analysis programme, The Big Issue on Saturday.

George Loh explained that his committee had done all the necessary amendments to the bill saying “we were at the tail end of it, few more amendments and we would have been done” but lamented that the minority members were adamant.

Mr. Loh, who is also a former Member of Parliament for North Dayi Constituency, said the NDC did all within its power push for the passage of the bill including getting the Attorney General’s Department to incorporate all the amendments needed into one document for easier scrutiny and approval.

RTI bill could be passed within three days

He noted that at that level, the bill could have been passed into law within three days, but for the Minority’s resistance.

“Let me give information about what we did on the RTI bill. We got the Attorney General’s department to get to incorporate all the amendments in a totally new document. So what was going to come to Parliament was no longer going to come with all the amendments on it. So we were going to go quickly go into the first reading, then one or two sessions, make sure we go through and make few changes then go through the second reading and then the third reading then it is passed.”

“So in actual fact, in three days, if government is minded to ensure that the Attorney General comes to sit in Parliament and be part of this bill, it could be passed. We have done all the work. We’ve incorporated all the suggestions and did all the necessary engagements,” he added.

Background of RTI bill

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.

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

Although the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has promised to pass the bill, it is unclear how soon that would be.

Cabinet yet to hold talks on RTI bill – Hamid

Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, in January 2018 claimed that Cabinet had not held discussions on the RTI bill.

“Cabinet has proposed to have a special session to look at this particular bill because of the importance that it has before we then pass it and take it to Parliament…The bill is before Cabinet. It will be discussed. If you ask me when, I will not be able to say, but I am sure pretty soon the Cabinet Secretary will get a day when the entire Cabinet will retreat in order to look at this bill properly and then when we have a final consensus on it, we can then take it to Parliament,” he added.

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

The post Kyei Mensah-Bonsu blocked passage of RTI bill – George Loh appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Ahmed Ibrahim says although the President has set up the Special Prosecutor Office, the institution will be ineffective without the passage of the Right to Information Bill into law.

[contextly_sidebar id=”7vsAknA42Wc9xRWs6Cb7eGdnHz86IaoK”]Speaking to Citi News, the Banda legislator said without the Bill, the Special Prosecutor would find it difficult to access information for effective work to be done.

“Corruption is an activity which takes place in secrecy, and governance is such that everybody is asking for transparency and accountability. People do not just ask for accountability. Whoever is asking for accountability will first of all have to ask for transparency. If there is no transparency there can be no accountability. The 1992 constitution says that all Ghanaians must have Right to Information such as must be established by the laws of the country. From 1992, we have struggled and have not been able to do it. Even though we have not done that, we have certain structures or certain constitutional bodies that are created to fight corruption, but the inability to pass the Right to Information bill into law has always made certain corrupt activities to be hidden in secrecy.”

“ If you say you have passed the Special Prosecutor Bill, the Special Prosecutor is going to fight corruption based on the information and what if the information does not exist, who will give him that information? Is it not government? So if government passes the RTI, then every individual will use the RTI law to knock on every door when public money is being spent.”

Calls for RTI bill passage 

There has been a rise in the number of calls for the RTI Bill to be passed after former Attorney General, Martin Amidu’s nomination as Special Prosecutor.

Some individuals including the General Secretary of National Democratic Congress (NDC), Asiedu Nketia, have argued that the Office of the Special Prosecutor will struggle to carry out its mandate without the RTI Bill.

According to Mr. Nketia, without the Bill, the Special Prosecutor will find it difficult to retrieve information, especially from government establishments.

“The most important Bill, even more important than the Special Prosecutor’s Office is the freedom to information Act. If someone comes with a complaint on a bloated price of a project, it will be difficult to crosscheck because if you request for it from government offices, they will tell you they can’t because of official secrecy. If you don’t bring the freedom of information Act, and ask the special prosecutor to do its job, you are going to complicate things for him,” he had earlier suggested.

About 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.

The Bill, as it has been drafted, is to also 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.”

Successive governments have however failed to ensure its passage despite several assurances.

Although the New Patriotic Party government has promised that the Bill will be passed under its tenure, it is unclear how soon that would be.

The Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, recently stated that Cabinet is yet to hold talks on the Bill before it can be brought back to Parliament for approval.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Pass RTI bill if you want to fight corruption – MP tells Nana Addo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

She thus explained that, the delay does not mean the Bill is not a priority, and that other bills from different sectors have also been on the table, and must be attended to.

[contextly_sidebar id=”YU76hLVbf2K1yu2j2dfKVddyoqx8dRuf”]She said “Bills like this, you don’t work on it yourself (as a Ministry); it is the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General which usually works on our bills, so it is more of the survival of the fittest”.

The Deputy Minister made the observations in her interaction with the media at Cape Coast on Tuesday, as part of the Ministry’s national tour across the regions to interact with the media.

Madam Ama Dokuaa was however quick to add that, there is the need for the bill to be passed because “access to the information will cure what we see today as fake news everywhere”.

The RTI, when passed, will give flesh to Article 21 (1) (f) of the 1992 Constitution which stipulates that, “All persons shall have the right to information subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic society”.

Again, the bill is to ease access to official information in the bosom of both public and private bodies performing functions that are funded by the taxpayer.

The Bill was drafted in 1999 and reviewed in 2003, 2005 and 2007, but was not presented to Parliament until 2010.

Getting to the latter part of the Mahama administration, there was a strong indication the Bill would be passed into law, but it was rather withdrawn in October 2016 for another review.

The Akufo-Addo government which firmly promised to pass it while campaigning in opposition prior to the 2016 elections, has recently come under much pressure to fulfill that promise.

Though various assurances have been given by the current administration on  the passage of the RTI, the Deputy Information Minister stated that the Bill is a priority to the President, saying, “It is his (the President’s) baby”.

She was hopeful the bill will be passed into law by the end of 2018.

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By: Joseph Ackon-Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post RTI competing with other Bills – Ama Dokuaa appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Before I get to what I read, I don’t think we as a Coalition thanked you enough for the role you played in supporting the advocacy for the passage of the RTI Bill when you were in opposition.

I want to especially mention the Technical Meeting for Selected MPs organized by the Coalition on the Right to Information that you chaired on February 29, 2016, when you committed yourself and other MPs present to be Champions of the RTI Bill in Parliament, and I must say you did so admirably.

On May 3, 2016, in an interview on Joy News, you questioned why the then government had failed in prioritizing the passage of the RTI Bill.

You indicated that you do not understand why the bill was yet to be passed after work on the amendment was completed three years previously.

You also added that government can see the passage through if it is committed to doing so before the end of the year (2016).  You urged Ghanaians to insist on the passage of the bill because they have a right to information.  On behalf of the Coalition on the Right to Information Ghana, I say thank you.

Another time I gave you Kudos was on September 28, 2016, when you described the then President, His Excellency John Mahama’s claim of being frustrated about the delay in the passage of the bill as “hypocritical” during an interview on Citi News.

To quote you as reported “…when the President says he is frustrated, I know the President also knows that anytime the Executive considers something a priority, it gets done so if it were their priority, it would have been done. This public expression of frustration for me is rather hypocritical”

This is why when your party won power in 2016 I felt that the hassle and struggles of yesteryears to get the bill passed were over.  After all, we have champions in the house, in fact one who is currently a First Deputy Speaker, who has been in the trenches with the Coalition when it came to working on the Bill to make it more robust, and knows the benefits of an RTI law to citizens in general and Ghanaians in particular.

Fast forward January 31, 2018, Hon. Member of Parliament I hear you were commenting on the RTI Bill during an interview you had on Morning Express, a programme on Radio XYZ and said “It’s not different from any other bill, As we speak now it’s not before the House yet…As far as I’m concerned, it is like any other bill.  For me, if you ask me, the more critical bills that are still pending are the Property Rights of Spouses and the Interstate Succession Bills. These are things that affect the Everyday People.”

My question Hon. Deputy Speaker is what has changed?  The RTI Bill is no longer a priority as far as you are concerned? And why so, if I may ask?   Are we now to take it that the Bill, if laid in Parliament today will play out just like it did during the NDC era? oh hand, by the way, the RTI Bill, when passed, will actually enhance the enjoyment of the two very critical bills you mentioned.   After all “Freedom of Information is a fundamental human right and the touchstone for all Freedoms …..” UN General Assembly, 1946

You alluded to the fact that the Constitution has stated limits, I beg to differ, the Constitution just said in Art 21 (1)(f) “information subject to such QUALIFICATIONS AND LAWS as are necessary for a democratic society”.   Moreover, since you were one of the people who worked relentlessly to get the bill amended I am sure you are aware a right to information law is not about “limits as you put it” and Ghana’s RTI law is definitely not about limitations to access information.

Again, Hon Deputy Speaker and MP for Bekwai, It is true a Constitutional provision can be enforced in court and Occupy Ghana did that as you alluded to, and were given the information and let’s not forget they paid GHC 1,000.00 for it, excluding legal fees- filling etc.  If you say anyone can go to court, true, but I am wondering how many of your constituents can afford the legal fees if they take you up on that?

In light of the fact that in the manifesto (NPP 2016 Manifesto) that got your government elected, bullet (c) under Legislative and other reforms states

“ensure the passage of the Right to Information bill if the present Parliament delays in doing so” and (a) under Petroleum Upstream and Mid-Stream Sector “improve transparency in the management of our oil and gas resources.  Our Commitment to passing the Right to Information Bill will further enhance transparency in oil and gas sector,

I am just wondering how …………  I sincerely hope that Ghanaians will not have to wait until 2020 for a law that is long overdue because the NPP has a 4-year tenure. I sincerely hope that this is not an NPP Government position-especially since the draft Bill has been with Cabinet for one full year, amidst promises but no movement.

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By: Mina Mensah(Vice Chair, Coalition on RTI, Ghana)/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post RTI Bill: Open letter to 1st Deputy Speaker of Parliament [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Washington DC-based Ghanaian filmmaker and communication specialist Kevin Taylor, who is the founder of Loud Silence Media, said the forum, which will be held in March 9, 2018, is part of a campaign to ensure the passage of the RTI bill brings more benefits than disadvantages to Ghanaians.

[contextly_sidebar id=”2aNxbspCewPLuTwEiwgFXqzC32ELwOnK”]“We have to understand that our right to free information comes with lots and lots of responsibilities. We have the responsibility to share information responsibly as individuals – especially as journalists,” Mr. Taylor noted.

“We are using social media as the platform to share very sensitive and investigative news. We need to be a lot more cautious with that when the RTI bill is passed. We need to learn from people who have experience with such issues so we can brainstorm, and better be prepared,” he added.

Event Coordinator for the forum, Oral Ofori, who is the Founder of TheAfricanDream LLC, a communication and information consultancy, said the forum will be held at Ghana’s Embassy in Washington DC, and will be attended by Ghanaians living in the US.

His Excellency Dr. Barfuor Adjei Barwuah, Ghana’s Ambassador to the US, will be the special guest of honor at the event.

The forum will cover topics such as verifying facts on social media, combating fake news, breaking news online, photography and visual journalism in the digital age, as well as education on the tenets of the RTI Bill.

The proposed RTI Bill, which has been in Parliament for more than a decade and half without being passed, is expected to give the public access to information held by public institutions and private entities which use state funds.

Mr. Taylor said there will be major red flags in the media landscape when the bill is eventually passed that need to be looked at now.

“Many journalists are trained in radio or newspaper reporting but a lot more lack the skills needed for digital journalism and social media reporting. We are doing this in order to educate the media and public alike,” he explained.

To RSVP or become a media partner or sponsor of the event visit bit.ly/2rSlJBk

Mr. Taylor’s Loud Silence Media, which was founded in 2012, has over the years undertaken a number of projects aimed at helping advance the socio-economic development of the country.

In 2015, Mr. Taylor received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to produce a documentary on Ghana’s struggles with energy production and innovative power solutions in the country.

The documentary, The Africa Energy Project, was published internationally by Al Jazeera and other international media organizations.

In 2016, Mr. Taylor launched With All Due Respect, an online television series that discusses running national issues with frankness and satire.

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Source: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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