[ 2012-05-19 ]

NDC is committing a blunder with 'Rights to Information Bill' - Asa B
A former Information Minister under the Kufuor
administration, Stephen Asamoah Boateng has
cautioned the NDC government on the continuous
change of its Information Ministers saying that
could impact negatively on the government's
activities.

According to him, the erstwhile NPP government has
learnt its own lessons by changing Information
Ministers seven times during their eight years
stay in office.

Mr. Asamoah Boateng who was speaking on Citi Fm's
news analysis program, 'Inside Politics' on Friday
stated that an Information Ministry under any
government must have a familiar face to front for
it.

He indicated that 'Ministry of Information, you
don't need to change ministers too often. You need
a familiar voice, a familiar face that sits down
well with the components of society like the
stakeholders, the media, the journalists, the
mosque, the churches, the NGO etc, we need to get
that feeling and get him to work.

'If you don't do that and you keep on chopping and
changing, basic information that must even go to
the people doesn't come. Look at this simple issue
of rights to information bill, governments
anywhere and everywhere don't like giving
information so they must be pushed.

“In our time the NGO's and Civil Society pushed us
and so we prepared everything and I thought the
level which we reach where cabinet had approved
it, it didn't need to be taken back to cabinet, it
should have gone to parliament straight away for
it to be passed.

'They've dilly dallied and it's probably also
because of the changes in the personnel. You must
have one person, familiar who understands the
spectrum of it and must carry it through, we
didn't have it and the NDC is doing almost the
same, as if they don't learn. Politicians
sometimes commit the same blunders, its even
worse.'

Source - Citifmonline

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