Minority Spokesman on Communications, John Mahama has warned that the new Right to Information Bill as presently crafted, would stifle the free flow of information rather than enhance it. He described the Bill as an effort to re-introduce criminal libel through the backdoor.
Mr. Mahama explained that the expansion of the exempt clauses to include all manner of public information renders the document useless as a tool to enforcing access to information by the media and the public at large.
In an exclusive interview with the Network Herald, the former Communications Minister was particularly apprehensive that clause 86 of the Bill criminalizes disclosure of exempt information, which is punishable on summary conviction to a prison term of not less than one year.
“By the terms of the present draft Bill, if the Right to Information Act were in force, most senior journalists and editors of newspapers would be in jail for publishing exempt information.”
Clause 86 states: (1) A record, a report, the settlement agreement, except where its disclosure is necessary for the purpose of implementation and enforcement, and other documents required in the course of mediation shall be confidential.
2) A mediator shall not disclose information given in the course of the mediation to a person who is not a party to the mediation without the consent of the parties.
3) A party to a mediation shall not rely on a) the record of the mediation b. Statement made at the mediation or, c) any information obtained during the mediation as evidence in court proceedings.”
According to the Bole/Bamboi MP, clause 17, which seeks to protect disclosure in the public interest, is weak and vague and would offer little protection to erring journalists who fall foul of clause 86.
Mr. Mahama pointed out that in the present draft bill there has been a significant expansion in the amount of information classified as exempt as compared with the original draft prepared by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
He also said the total of 60 working days granted information officers within which they must provide the requested information, will render most of such information irrelevant especially for the mass media by the time it is received.
Moreover, he pointed out, Clause 16 could be used to frustrate applications for information because it empowers Information Officers to refuse to grant access to information if they consider the request to be “frivolous or vexatious” and also if they determine that the amount of work required to provide the information will cause unreasonable diversion of the resources of the agency unless the applicant pays an amount considered adequate by the agency for the processing of the information involved.
The 20-year time frame also assigned for declassification of exempt information is unreasonably long in a developing economy.
The Minority Spokesman called on journalists, researchers, and civil society groups to subject the draft Bill to close scrutiny, warning that it has a great potential of rolling back the advances made in free expression over the last decade of our history.
The Right to Information Bill seeks to replace the existing Arbitration Act 1961 (Act 38) in order to bring the law governing arbitration into harmony with international conventions, rules and practices in arbitration.
It also seeks to provide the legal and institutional framework that will facilitate and encourage the settlement of disputes through alternative dispute resolution procedures and provide by legislation, for the subject of a customary arbitration, which has been practiced over the years.
