PARLIAMENT FINALLY PASSES RTI BILL UNDER NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFFO-ADDO
Parliament has finally passed the Right to Information (RTI)
Bill into law.
The bill was passed following the completion of its
consideration stage after several policy changes, amendments and months of
rigorous debates on the Floor of the House.
The RTI Bill had been in Parliament for close to two decades
despite calls from the media and civil society groups for its passage.
About RTI
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 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 RTI 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withdrawn and replaced with a new one which was immediately laid.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 commenced 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.
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