Where There Is No Vision The People Perish

In recent times, the agitation for passage of the right of information bill in to a law has generated brilliant arguments from well meaning Ghanaians. The latest to add their voice in support of the passage of the bill in to a law are the deputy ministerial nominees for the ministry of information during their vetting by the parliamentary vetting committee.

It’s in light of this enlightened euphoria i am encouraged to join the advocacy in favor of the passage of the bill in to a law. My motivation is born out of the fact that if the bill is passed in to a law, it can close the widening gap of inequalities in our society which has, on unpleasant occasions, threatened the peace of our dear nation.

Access to information is no an abstract debate: it’s an essential tool and valuable material for active citizens and effective state to effect a change that can close the gap between the have and have-not. A classical scenario in support of the above statement occurred in India. For two decades, the people of Sunder Nagri, a slum on the north –eastern edge of the India capital, Delhi, had to make do without sewers, as local officials kept promising to clean things up. In 2005, making use of the country’s new right to information law; local businessman, Noshe Ali, was able to discover what everyone in Sunder Nagri had already guessed – that there were no plans to dig any sewers. Armed with that information Ali convinced the city chief minister to authorize a budget. Work started within a year.

Again, not long after, a local woman followed Ali’s example. Ask to handover 800 rupees($20) for birth certificate for her two daughters. She refused, instead used the right to information law to find out what was delaying her application, and which officials were responsible. Rather than face public shamming, the local government official quickly gave her the birth certificate.

In view of the above experiences, we don’t need an angel from heaven to tell us how the right to information law, no matter how small it is, expands horizon, allows people to make informed choices and, above all, strengthens their ability to demand their right. Ensuring access to information is integral to enabling poor people tackle the deep inequality across the world.

In the words of internet pioneer, Stewart brand,” it appears that information wants to be free”. The 21st century has witnessed poor people’s access to information increased greatly, driven by rising literacy levels, the spread of radio, television, mobile telephone, and the internet. By 2007, there were twice as many mobile phones owners in developing countries as in industrialized countries, and subscriber growth ratio in Africa were running at 50 percent per year. In Ghana, the teledensity is about 11.5 million; representing more than 50 percent of the population. This phenomenon has transformed poor peoples access to finance and market information. If access to information is made a right, this will go a long way to complete the dream of a better Ghana.

However, it’s important to point out that free and responsive media can raise public awareness on issues of right, but can also provoke reprisal. Iraq, Algeria, Russia and Colombia are recently the most deadly countries for journalist. Also information pertaining on national security must be handled with circumspection, such that national security and cohesion will not be sacrificed on the altar of transparency and accountability. In many African countries, the media has effectively tackled stigma and discrimination on HIV and AIDS, through popular drama series, such as South African “Soul city” promoted debate on social issues, such as rape and domestic violence.

In Armerna, “My Rights”, a television series that uses mock trials to depict real life disputes in the courts became a surprise number one show: increasing public awareness and scrutiny of the legal system. When the electricity went off in one village, a few minutes before “My Right” was due on air, town people marched on to the mayor office and accused local official of trying to keep them (figuratively)in dark.

Permit me to quickly add, despite the hype surrounding the internet, that Ghanaians should not be carried away by this hype. The statistics does not support the hype. As late as 2007, Africa and South Asia still had only five internet users per 1000 people. Beyond personal face to face and telephone communication, poor people remain largely reliant on government or co-operate dominated broadcast media for information. It is on record governments use bribery to control the media. One revealing study found that Peru’s notorious Fujimore government in the 1990s had a lot of television channel owners on the pay role, 100 times more than judges and politicians. The strongest potential check on such unscrupulous governments in power is to provide a framework that can make easy access to information a right, not a privilege.

This modern times, One of the effective ways to making information accessible to the masses is the creation of community based broadcasting, often the main source of information for poor people, a low cost venture. This has diluted state or co-operate control over essential information. In Latin America, community base broadcasters are well established; reaching otherwise excluded groups, and are spreading rapidly across Africa. This innovation should certainly be an eye opening to the Ministry of Communication and National Communication Authority to adopt and facilitate the issuance of licenses for communities that want to make use of such novelty. Such initiatives provides effective source of information in unofficial language – a major source of information when it comes to empowering poor communities. In Ghana the situation is not different. None of the languages of the poorest region in Ghana is used in the discussions of strategies of eliminating poverty in those regions.

It is high time our governments appreciated the realities of the changing world and accepted the unpleasant fact that the forces driving the greater access to information are stronger and resolute in their determination for unlimited information; thanks to combination of demand (improved literacy, more assertive citizens, and the spread of elected government) and supply (technologies, that make information more widely and cheaply available).

Despite the concentration of the sources of information in the hands of a few titans, the coming years should see poor people gain greater access to information through an increased diverse set of traditional and new channels. Without the stretch of any imagination, one can conclude firmly that easy access to information can help poor people influence decisions that affect their lives. In the specific cases; the Solomon Islands Natural resources and Right Coalition help local communities gain access to logging agreement and other government documents so that they can fight for their rights over forest. Public access to information can also prompt the state to become more effective, as evidence in the Indian example cited in this article.

AUTHOR Malik Adam Gariba

FORMER LOCAL NUGS PRESIDENT UNIVRESITY OF GHANA