NPP to fast-track passage of Right to Information Bill

Accra, June 26, GNA- Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, flag bearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), for the 2008 Election, on Thursday said if elected as President of Ghana, the passage of Right to Information Bill would be fast-tracked within the early months of his administration.

He said "The passage of the RTI Bill would enforce other intervention by government especially the Whistleblowers Law in the fight against corruption".

Nana Akufo-Addo was speaking at the political platform created by Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in collaboration with Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and Joy FM an Accra based radio station. The programme dubbed: "An Evening Encounter," would provide all flag bearers with representation in Parliament a sole platform to share their campaign messages and answer questions from the electorates based on the messages presented. On the economy, Nana Addo said he was committed to developing a modern society where the economy would grow at 10 per cent growth rate, improve the time for processing business applications and reduce the time for doing business in Ghana. The government according to him will irrigate the northern part of the country and the Accra planes to increase food production and reduce hunger in the country.

Nana Akufo-Addo said the Northern part of Ghana was capable of being the bread basket of West Africa and stressed that adding value to the country's raw materials would be pursued vigorously. He said the country's development would remain at subsistence level unless serious efforts were made to add value to raw materials. Nana Akufo-Addo pledged to use his understanding of both French and English to fast-track regional integration to create market for Ghana. The NPP flag bearer said: "I will be action oriented, demanding results, chase progress reject bureaucracy", he noted. Nana Akufo-Addo said he would enforce zoning regulations to ensure proper planning of towns and cities with provisions made for parks, schools and other recreational facilities. He said would be support real estate developers to construct affordable houses to augment the efforts of government and about 20,000 sanitation inspectors would be deployed to deal with the problem of sanitation.

Nana Akufo-Addo called on all Ghanaians to contribute to the success of the 2008 Election since the world would be watching Ghana. Asked whether the incarceration of former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Mr Tsatsu Tsikata in the absence of his lawyer amounted to a violation of his human rights, Nana Akufo-Addo, a constitutional lawyer, said it was legally acceptable for the court to take its decisions in the absence of defence counsels. The NPP flag berarer said the trial judge in the case, Mrs Justice Henritta Abban, was as a respected member of the bench and did not think the judge would take any irresponsible decision being a refined criminal lawyer herself.

He noted, however, that if the decision of the court violated Mr. Tsikata's human rights, "that was unfortunate because the courts in our country should protect our rights not violate them". Dr Edward Mahama, flag bearer of the Peoples National Convention (PNC), would complete the Evening Encounter programme on 3rd July. The Coalition on the Right to Information in Ghana at recent National Advocacy training workshop urged President John Agyekum Kufuor to ensure the passage of the bill to serve as a farewell legacy to round off the eight year administration of the NPP. The Coalition said democracy thrived on transparency; therefore, open governance must be supported and extended at a practical level as an absolute priority.

It said passing the Right to Information Bill and implementing an effective access to information regime was a simple, but extremely useful step towards entrenching good governance. The Coalition membership included Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Ghana Journalists Association, (GJA), Commonwealth Human Rights Initiatives, Media Foundation for West Africa, Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Public Archives Administration and Records Department, and Third World Network. Others were; Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Ghana News Agency, (GNA), Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition, Amnesty International Ghana Section, Institute for Information and Development, Ghana Integrity International and Bawku Literary Initiatives. 26 June 08