Passage of RTI Bill must be accelerated - Felix Owusu Agyapong

A former majority leader and minister for Parliamentary Affairs Felix Owusu Agyapong has cautioned the 7th Parliament to prioritise the passage of the Right to Information Bill.

Felix Owusu Agyapong who served under the Kufuor administration stated that pushing for the passage of the Right to Information Bill at the last hour by immediate past President John Mahama was in bad taste since it involved the fundamental rights of people and the State’s secrecy.

“…they should’ve seen the need for that bill and put it on an urgent situation but because it’s a very important law that is going to look at the fundamental rights of people and the state’s secrecy, I’m not sure we should rush it as suggested by the immediate past President…. When it comes to amendment, you need to be very careful, a comma at one wrong place can make the law different...” he said.

The former Majority leader continued by expressing his joy that Parliament halted the passage of the Bill.

“I’m happy that they’ve agreed that they’ll take it as an important Bill and hope that before the end of this year the current parliament would have looked at it and give us a good law”

Mr Owusu Agyapong was optimistic that the Akufo-Addo administration will be able to put the country back on the development track. He noted that the Kufuor government was able to put the country in the middle-income group without the availability of reserve from oil.

The former Parliamentary Affairs Minister was among several high-profile dignitaries who were in attendance at the inauguration of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the fifth President of the fourth Republic.