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23.03.2018 Parliament

Parliamentary Press Corps Wades Into The Passage Of RTI Bill

By GNA
Parliamentary Press Corps Wades Into The Passage Of RTI Bill
23.03.2018 LISTEN

As Parliament prepares to rise on Friday, the Parliamentary Press Corps of Ghana (PPC), on Thursday added its voice to numerous calls on the Executive to expedite action, and submit the Right to Information Bill (RTI) Bill to Parliament for immediate passage.

'The PPC sincerely believes that as a group of journalists who cover daily proceedings of Parliament and a major stakeholder in the RTI Bill, it won't be out of place if we urge Parliament not to cause any further delay whenever the RTI is brought before it for consideration and subsequent passage,' members of the Corps insisted.

Wearing tee shirts, with the inscription 'Pass RTI Bill Now, the Countdown is On' to stress their call, members of the corps, observed that 'it is when a Bill is passed into law and tested that any grey area or loopholes could be detected.

'So we are asking the Executive and Parliament to pass the Bill and later if necessary an amendment can be done to achieve its purpose.'

Nana Agyemang Birikorang, the Dean of the PPC, told a press conference at the Parliament House, in Accra that reliable checks by the Corps had shown that two main issues need to be considered when the Bill is before Parliament.

These, he said were whether 'the country should have a central laboratory where those seeking to access information can go or there should be a reference centre where those seeking information can go and be directed to certain places for the required information; and the 'kind of information that should be made available to the citizenry seeking for the information because some information.'

He called for these to be addressed by all stakeholders so that the Executive and the Legislature will have no excuse than to pass the Bill, '' which he said would go a long way to enhance the work of journalists.'

Nana Birikorang recalled an assurance from the Majority Leader that the Bill would be passed before the end of the second meeting of Parliament.

'So with the same spirit of hope we are urging Parliament to make haste and pass the Bill when it's brought before them,' the Dean said.

'We hope our concerns will be addressed with immediate effect,' he added

Meanwhile, Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, in an interview with journalists, gave a firm assurance that the House would really receive the Bill before it rises.

He was of the expectation that Members of the House would work on the Bill during the next recess after the House adjourns for the Easter Break on Friday.

Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo at the Independence Day celebration said the decade-old Right to Information Bill is critical in the fight against corruption, promising to present it to Parliament again for passage for few days ahead.

He said the bill, when it becomes a law, would increase transparency and add another critical arsenal in the fight against corruption.

'After many years of hesitation, we intend to bring a Bill again to Parliament and work to get it passed into law before Parliament rises,' the President said at the Black Star Square during a speech to mark Ghana's 61st Independence Day anniversary.

Meanwhile Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia on Monday announced that a revised version of the Right to Information Bill had been approved by Cabinet and forwarded to Parliament.

'Cabinet has given approval for the Right to Information Bill to be laid in Parliament for debate and approval because it is very critical that we pass the Right to Information Bill,' Dr. Bawumia stated during the Norway-Ghana Business and Investment Forum in Accra.

The bill when passed will give power to the constitutional provision that gives every Ghanaian the right to information.

A right to information law entitles citizens to ask for and get information generated in relation to their active lives as citizens of a country and kept by the government or any public institution.

The entitlement is only limited in situations, where the information required can compromise national security or public safety.

A right to information regime is important in ensuring transparency and accountability and is perfectly in sync with a democratic system.

It makes citizens knowledgeable contributors to governance and development.

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