RTI must cover private sector too – Mike Ocquaye

Former presidential aspirant Prof. Mike Ocquaye says the access to the Right to Information Bill must not be restricted to the public sector.

He says the bill, once it becomes law, will better serve the country if it also covers the private sector.

The access to the Right to Information Bill is meant to facilitate access to information by the general public at all government levels.

Its passage by Parliament has delayed due to certain disagreements over certain clauses amongst other concerns.

Speaking at a forum on the bill in Accra, Prof Mike Ocquaye who is a former legislator said private firms must also be roped into the bill.

“…This should not cover public bodies only. It should cover all private bodies whose activities touch and concern public or other interests in Ghana”, he stressed.

According to him, failure to do so will result in the creation of gaps in the law through which “the most important people may get away with impunity”.

Prof. Ocquaye believes the activities of oil, mining, cocoa purchasing companies amongst others must be captured by the law.

Prof Ocquaye is in good company with another former Presidential Aspirant, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, who recently questioned whether the right to information bill must be restricted to only State institutions.

At a recent forum on the bill, the former CEO of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) who is now the President of the Dominion University College (DUC) wondered if the bill should not be extended to cover non-state institutions.

He argued that much as the bill should enable citizens to keep a spotlight on public officials, a good question arose as to whether citizens’ right to information should not cover non-state institutions, including private corporations and companies.