The informal sector actors in Bolgatanga have called on the Parliamentary Committee on communications and the Committee on Legal Constitutional and Parliamentary Affair to as a matter of importance, review the Right To Information Bill before passing it into law.Though they commended the government for the draft RTI Bill, they said they were deeply concerned the Bill had been moved from one government to another since 2002, and therefore reminded President John Dramani Mahama to fulfill his promise to fight corruption through the passage of an effective RTI Law during 2012 IEA Presidential debate.
At a public forum with STAR-Ghana and the RTI Coalition in Bolgatanga and attended by
informal sector groups such as Asongataaba Christian Mothers Association, Federation of Muslim Women Association of Ghana, Widows and Orphans, Single Mothers, Cattle Dealers Association, Persons with disabilities and the media, the actors said they had observed that, duty bearers were not meeting expectations of electorate, poor linkage between elected representatives and citizens, lack of transparency and accountability in local governance, limited citizen participation in decision making and lack of information flow between government and citizens.
They therefore wanted Parliament to review and include in the bill; “all exempted information should be subjected to the harms test, including information relating to the office of the President and the Vice President, security agencies, international relations, economic information of third parties and information relating to tax whose non-disclosure is in the public interest; the law should cover private bodies and chieftaincy institutions; an Independent Information Commission should be set to monitor implementation of the act and to serve as a review body where information has been denied; the fees should be limited to the actual cost of reproduction of the information requested for and not time spent on gathering the information; the Bill should include a provision that talks about recordkeeping; the Bill should include timelines for implementation; date to commence its implementation and which section of the Bill should be implemented immediately”.
In a communiqué signed by Mr. Ayeliga Apana, President of Cattle Dealers Association, Madam Rose Zidan, President of Market Women Association, Madam Monica Tibil, Organizer of Christian Mothers, Associaiion, Hajia Sheitu Tahiru, President of Federation of Muslim Women Association of Ghana and Mr. Abu Issaka, President of Persons With Disabilities in Basket Weaving, it was time for Parliament to connect the right to information to the daily lives of those the MPs represented and their right to development.
According to them, access to information legislation was a powerful tool for strengthening democracy, promoting development as well as upholding transparency, accountability and countering corruption and inefficiency in government. Without an effective RTI law, Ghanaians cannot enjoy the full benefits of open and transparent governance, they added.
Mr. Norbert Atiah Atanga, Right To Information Coalition Focal Person, said although the Coalition had engaged in various forms of advocacy to promote the passage of the Bill, it was perceived that it was only the elites who wanted the passage of the Bill and not ordinary Ghanaians. The public forum was therefore to broaden the scope of the coalition and reach out to wider audience by targeting at the informal sector. The forum sought to raise the awareness of the groups as it deliberations were mainly done in the Frafra language, Gurune. The importance of access to information was dramatized to the admiration of the audience.
Source: William N-lanjerborr Jalulah (nlanjerborr@yahoo.com)
