Trending GH: Pass RTI Bill now – Ghanaians back RTI Coalition

Some Ghanaians have thrown their weight behind the move by pressure group, Right to Information Coalition, calling on government to lay the Right to Information (RTI) Bill before parliament within 10 days.

Some people who spoke to Ghanaweb TV at the University of Ghana believe that the 10-day ultimatum was a step in the right direction since the passage of the RTI Bill has been long overdue.

For one lady, the 10-day ultimatum given government is even too much time as many years have already been wasted.

A few others however were of the view that the NPP government was still in its infant stage, thus more time is needed to pass the RTI Bill.

The Right to Information Coalition on March 15, 2018, gave government a 10-day ultimatum to lay the RTI Bill before parliament to be passed into law before the house raises.

This reaction is as a result of the coalition’s displeasure at the repeated broken promises regarding the passage of the Right to Information Bill.

The group believes that government’s failure to pass the Bill is not just an infringement on the ‘constitutional democratic and human rights’ of Ghanaians but an injury to the country’s democracy.

It can be recalled that during the recently held 61st Independence Day celebration, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo reiterated his commitment to the fight against corruption by saying that Parliament is likely to pass the Right to Information Bill (RTI) before it goes on recess.

The Right to Information Bill was first drafted in 1999 under the supervision of governance think-tank, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).

The document went through series of reviews in 2003, 2005 and 2007 before finding a temporary home in Parliament on February 5, 2010.