Access to information is inalienable right -Says Human Rights activist

A HUMAN Rights Activist, Mr. Richard Ellimah, has chastised the government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for failing to live up to its campaign promise to ensure the speedy passage of the Right to Information Bill into law.

He said the lackadaisical approach and lack of political will towards the passage of the bill on the part of the government, was very worrying, contending that citizens' access to information was an inalienable right, and not a privilege.

The Human Right Activist, who made the statement during a press conference organised by the Right to Information Coalition in Kumasi last Thursday, noted that the government was reneging on its responsibilities at making information freely accessible citizens in the country.

In page 24 of its 2008 elections manifesto, the government of the National Democratic Congress pledged to ensure the immediate enactment of the Right to Information Bill into law if it was voted into power, in order to enhance access to public information.

But, much however, remains to be seen, almost ten months into the administration of the government, raising concerns about the commitment of the government towards the passage of the bill.

Mr. Ellimah asserted that citizens' craving for an open, transparent, and accountable leadership, would continue to remain a mirage, if the governed was not giving unrestricted access to public information.

He emphasised that the lack of vital public information had impacted negatively on citizens' participation in the governance of this country, adding that the situation had encouraged corruption and maladministration in the country.

“It is hard to think that citizens have the right to know how their monies are expended, moreover, where this information is made public, they are often restricted to few people, and getting them becomes very difficult,” he lamented.

Mr. Ellimah cited, for instance, the difficulty in accessing the budget spending of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, restriction to details of foreign contracts, and the inability of people living in mining areas to be privy to mining contractual agreements reached between government and mining companies are few, but many instances where the rights of Ghanaians to know, have been totally trampled upon.

The Ashanti Regional President of the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), Mrs. Judith Agyemang, underscored the need for journalists in the country to seek enough knowledge about the various principles underlying the enactment of the bill, so that they could apply it to the benefit of all Ghanaians.

She noted that notwithstanding the fact that the passage of the bill would ensure accountability and good governance, media practitioners and other stakeholders must also exercise restraint in their campaign for its ratification.

The Regional Coordinator of the Right to Information Coalition, Muftaw Mohammed, said the coalition would sustain its advocacy programme aimed at sensitising the public on the need to support calls for the expeditious passage of the bill.