Coalition Commends Govt For Decision To Pass RTI Bill
The Right to Information (RTI) Coalition has commended the government for its commitment to pass the RTI Bill into law by the end of the year.
The Convener of the coalition, Nana Oye Lithur, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra that the passage of the bill into law would make Ghana a pacesetter for other West African nations to emulate.
She said people's right to access information had been widely recognised as an essential pre-requisite for an effective and functional democracy.
In Ghana, this is echoed in Article 21 (1) (f) of the 1992 Constitution which provides for every individual's right to information, subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic society.
She said the RTI Bill would provide for the implementation of the constitutional right to information held by a public agency and a private body.
'This law places an obligation on public agencies and private bodies to provide to any person access to information and in response to a formal request received, in a timely, inexpensive and reasonable manner,' Nana Lithur stressed
She said the coalition, in collaboration with the African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters (CAPSDH), had set November 12 for engagement with health professionals.
The November dialogue, which will be held on the theme, 'Hippocratic Oath within the Framework of the Right to Information', seeks to create a platform for health professionals and human rights activists to have a diagnosis of the oath and scrutinise the RTI Bill under the microscope to set the pace for combining health knowledge with knowledge of law and ethics.
Speakers will include the Executive Member of the RTI Coalition, Mr Akoto Ampaw, and officials of the Ghana Medical Association, Ghana Bar Association, Ghana Registered Nurses Association, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Police Hospital, the 37 Military Hospital, Ghana AIDS Commission and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice.
Others will come from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Information, the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice, Ghana Journalists Association, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Ghana), Judicial Service, Ridge Hospital and RTI Coalition.
It will be chaired by Professor Kwame Karikari of the Media Foundation for West Africa.
The President of the CAPSDH, Dr Edmund Delle, said the dialogue has been designed to create a platform for human rights and health advocates to begin the process of sharing experiences, stimulate the creation of collaborative networks for research, education, communication and advocacy and strengthen national solidarity among people working in the health and human rights fields.
He said deliberations from the monthly dialogue would be published in CAPSDH's monthly newsletter, which would serve as educational and resource material for the public.
The CAPSDH is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the defence and promotion of the ideas enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. Share Your Thoughts on this article Name Email Location Comments Graphic Ghana may edit your comments and not all comments will be published