[ 2012-05-03 ]

Parliament blamed for failing to pass RTI bill
The Northern Regional Chapter of the Coalition on
the Right to Information (RTI) has expressed
disappointment at parliament’s inability to pass
the Right to Information bill which has been
pending in the House for about a decade now.

It noted that “Parliamentarians are either
adopting this lukewarm attitude towards the bill
for their parochial political interest to continue
running away from accountability and transparency
or for reasons best known to them.”

The coalition also demanded to know from the Joint
Committee on Communication and Constitutional,
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, the report on the
Regional Consultations which were held in six
selected regions last year, saying “It is very
necessary the Joint Committee makes its report
available to the House and the general public”.

These were contained in a press release issued in
Tamale and signed by Mr Mahama Zakaria, the
Northern Regional Coordinator of the RTI, who
stressed that "the Coalition is calling on the
leadership of Parliament to make the RTI bill part
of its agenda for its next sitting which is
expected to start in May 2012.

“We consider this very necessary because the bill,
which was drafted in 2002, has been sitting on the
shelves of law makers for 10 years now and needs
the necessary attention,” the statement said.

The coalition also reminded the government of its
manifesto promises to the people of Ghana during
the 2008 elections that it would ensure the
passage of the bill when voted to power, adding
“government should note that election 2012 is just
around the corner and that their manifesto promise
is yet to see the light of day.”

It called on all the political parties to
demonstrate their commitment to the passage of the
bill and urged all civil society groups, the media
and the public to lead a crusade towards the
passage of the bill to ensure more transparency,
accountability and good governance for the
development of the country.

Meanwhile, when the GNA spoke to some journalists
in the Northern Region about the bill, they
equally expressed disappointment with the law
makers and the executive for failing to push
through the Right to Information bill, alleging
that the politicians were probably doing this just
to continue luring Ghanaians in dubious
administrative transactions.

A media practitioner, Mr Francis Npong, said if
the government actually believed in a free, fair
and transparent democratic state, then the bill
must be passed to enable ordinary citizens to have
access to the needed information.

He said the passage had delayed because the bill
was not in the interest of the politicians, noting
that "several bills that came after the RTI bill
had been passed, yet this bill is still waiting.
What is the NMC and the GJA doing to push for the
passage of the bill which is to enhance the work
of journalists?"

Source - Daily Graphic

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