Ghana marks Right to Know Day on September 28

Accra, Sept. 24, GNA - Ghanaian journalists in collaboration with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and the Coalition on the Right to Information, on Wednesday, outlined activities to mark 2008 "Right to Know (RTI) Day", which falls on September 28. The activities include a public lecture, on Monday September 29, at the British Council, on the theme: "Adopting the Right to Information Legislation in Ghana - Where are we?" Distribution of RTI materials, media sensitisation and intensification of lobbying campaigns for the passage of the Right to Information Bill.

Speakers at the public lecture includes Professor Kwame Karikari, of Media Foundation for West Africa; Justice V. C. R. A. C. Crabbe, Government Special Commissioner on the Right to Information Bill; Ms. Katherine Bain, Programmes Manager, World Bank and Mr. Akoto Ampaw, Ghana Bar Association.

The rest are, Dr. Steve Manteaw, Director, ISODEC; Mr. Vitus Azeem, General Secretary, Ghana Integrity Initiative; Nana Oye Lithur, Regional Co-ordinator, CHRI and Mr. Al-Hassan Adams, Ghana Coalition against Water Privatisation.

The day commemorates a worldwide recognition of the right of every individual to know and access official information from governments and private bodies exercising a public function.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Nana Oye said the 1992 Constitution provided that "all persons have the right to information subject to such qualifications and laws as are necessary in a democratic society."

She observed that the absence of a specific law to outline how the right should be exercised means that public access to information is being violated.

Nana Oye said in 2002, Government issued its first draft Bill on the RTI and had since made several attempts to review it through consultations with civil society.

She noted that the delay in passing the bill raises serious questions about government's commitment.

"It has been 16 years since the 1992 Constitution came into force and still, a law to operationalise the RTI has not been witnessed. "As the nation reflects on the strides in the democratic practice of Ghana, guaranteeing the RTI as a tool of good governance should be seen as a benchmark to the process."

On behalf of the RTI Coalition, Nana Oye reiterated the call on Government to deliver on its pledges to pass the pending RTI Bill. She stressed: "We challenge the Government to pass the RTI Bill as a lasting legacy."